Spectre of Konoha
by darkstream0
Summary: I tried to help a kid that was drowning in the lake. For my heroic actions, I lost my life. But that doesn't mean everything is over. I got a second chance in the world of Naruto. It's kill or be killed and I really don't like to be killed. Easy to say but how will I survive when I am surrounded by assassins, maniacs with the idea of putting the world in a dream to achieve peace.
1. I am alive Isn't that great?

Kazumi Uzumaki screamed in pain as lightning flashed across the dark sky bathing her room in white light for a moment. She looked at her mother who was encouraging her to stay strong with a smile.

"You can do this Kazumi. Just push a little harder." her mother encouraged

Taking her mother's words to heart Kasumi began to push as hard as she could until finally, she succeeded in her task. The room was filled with the sound of the wailing of a baby. Finally, her child was born and that thought brought an immense amount of relief to her mind.

Kasumi watched as the midwife took her child and cleaned the blood that clung to its tiny body. The midwife placed the baby near Kasumi.

"The child is a healthy boy, Uzumaki-san." the midwife said happily

Kasumi parted the cloth that covered her newborn son and placed a kiss on his forehead lovingly. She watched in surprise as her son tried to open his eyes. It was partially successful and she managed to see his white eyes that were shining like the moon which was so much like his father. That itself presented a problem but she didn't bother with that line of thought.

"What will you name him daughter?" her mother asked curiously

"How about Varuna Uzumaki?" Kasumi asked

"That's a good name. Take some rest daughter. You must regain your strength." her mother advised as she stood up from her bedside and exited the room

Kasumi turned to her son and pressed one more kiss on his head.

"My only regret is your father is not here to see you grow up, Varuna. I hope you grow up to be like him." Kasumi cooed as she carefully hugged her son close to her and fell asleep

**XXXXX**

I knew it was a bad idea to jump from the boat into an unfamiliar lake. But I couldn't just let the child that fell into the lake die. The heart-wrenching wail of the child's mother was what spurred me into this action.

After I jumped into the lake I managed to swim near the drowning child and support the kid with my left arm. With some effort, I managed to swim near the boat and helped the kid to climb up a rope that was tied down from the boat. I was about to climb up but there was one more kid down in the water which I didn't saw the first time.

A lifebuoy was thrown my way and I took the thing with me as I swam near the second kid. Once I neared the kid's position I felt myself be drawn back by a force. Without thinking I threw the lifebuoy in the general direction of the kid and soon I was pulled under the water by the invisible force. Water rushed in from everywhere and I couldn't hold my breath any more and I lost consciousness.

The next time I woke up was on a soft bed. But my vision was very funny as I saw everything around me was large while I myself felt very small. Then again what confused me the most was a bunch of nobodies were gathered around me talking in Japanese language. Now that was a shocker especially as everyone around me had red hair and they were dressed funny. At first, I thought I was just dreaming but even after hours passed the scene didn't change. I tried to move but it felt as if the entire world was holding me back from moving and I couldn't speak as only gibberish seems to come out of my mouth whenever I tried. It took some time but I finally realized I was no longer in my own body and was somehow in the body of a baby. As if that was not enough I finally paid enough attention to the people around me and saw that all these people seem to wear a headband with a spiral mark on it. It was then everything clicked in my mind. I had no idea how but I was definitely in the world of Naruto and worst of all I was born in the Uzumaki clan. This realization was enough to knock me out for a while.

**XXXXX 5 years later XXXXX**

Several Kunai whistled past through the forest at breakneck speed and embedded themselves on several marked targets on the trees. Another set of kunai came and struck away the kunai one by one and began to replace them on the trees.

"How was that Aikido Sensei?" Varuna asked as he panted from all the running and kunai throwing that he was doing since early morning

"Not bad. I guess I will have to increase the number of kunai in your training session from now on." Aikido commented with a shrug

"Oh come on. You know that I am more comfortable with shuriken and a blade in my hand. I think I have enough of the kunai." Varuna complained

"You must become proficient in every field Varuna. You know that you are an attractive target for our enemies. You have the Uzumaki and Hyuga blood running through your veins. It is absolutely necessary that you excel in all forms of Ninja arts because the enemies that will come after you will be dangerous." Aikido said as he began to collect the kunai from the trees

"Yes, sensei. I will do my best." Varuna gave a brief bow

"You may take your leave. I am sure your mother will be waiting for you." Aikido sensei said and Varuna wasted no time as he bolted from the forest

**XXXXXX**

The first few years of my new life were weird. As a baby, I didn't have the best of motor functions but the instincts that were in the body were not compatible with the mind that I possessed. In fact, it was my rigorous use of meditation and several breathing exercises that managed to keep myself sane throughout the first few years. There was also one more thing I realised in my younger years. The brain certainly and absolutely controlled the mind rather than the soul. I realised this because my brain certainly didn't have the necessary growth to store the memories that I had from my previous life. I had only small snippets of memories from my previous life but as he grew older certain memories began to become clear and vivid.

When that happened I was almost four years old and it was at that age I managed to access my chakra. Years of meditation had helped me to form a close bond with my Yin Chakra and this bond actually helped to shape my will into reality and thereby releasing my chakra.

The first time I activated my chakra was a novel experience. It felt like as if a deep connection was opened with the rest of my body. At that moment I realised the nature of Chakra itself. The Chakra that was running through the body was actually a platform for the mind to connect consciously with the body. That means the Yin Chakra and Yang Chakra was essentially a product of the mind and the mind was the ultimate factor that regulated the chakra flow. The mind, in turn, was controlled by the brain so all I had to do was to master my own mind. But that was no easy task but the Chakra actually provided an easy route to safely communicate with mind and thereby the brain consciously. Everyone is able to communicate with the mind unconsciously. All our physical processes happen without our knowledge and yet the process has never stopped or failed somehow so this means that the mind is actually in full working mode. This might be the reason why the transmigrant powers work for Indra and Ashura. The two brother's Chakra has taken a form of self-awareness and find the most similar mind that it could find and most likely those who were born within the bloodline of Senju and Uchiha had the most resonating minds to the Chakra.

If that was the case then that means all bloodline limits were formed by the mind of the first progenitor. That thought brought me to a profound realisation. The Chakra that one inherits have articulate and inarticulate memory and this memory usually decides how the bloodline limit is usually manifested. This was all theoretical and if I was correct this means that I can actually form a bloodline limit myself if I have necessary awareness of the nature of my chakra. Still, that left the question of people with no bloodline limit. There was long years ahead of me to find the answers but my conclusion was that I should be at least be able to strengthen my chakra into remembering the Uzumaki bloodline limit.

To test my theory I turned to the only tool I had in my arsenal and that was Yoga. The Byakugan eyes actually were a godsend as it helped very much in my Yoga practices. I used the Byakugan to replicate the breathing and movement patterns of fish, Snakes, Tortoise and many other animals to consciously control the Yang Chakra flow in my body while increasing my awareness and concentration.

My activities didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the clan and the end result was me being pushed into early training. Unlike the Ninja academy system of Konoha, Uzushigakure employed the Uzumaki clan members as teachers. Considering Uzushigakure only had the Uzumaki clan that was understandable. There were other ninjas but they all came from a civilian background.

Anyway, I got landed under the tutelage of Aikido sensei as per the instructions of the clan elders. My mother was not happy about that and she seems to be very frosty with the clan elders for some reason. I actually learned that from the way her chakra flow changed whenever the clan leadership was mentioned or whenever one of the elders came under her field of vision. I still had no idea what was going on but I occasionally found my mother sometimes crying by her lonesome. Whatever the reason was my mother was clearly upset and I didn't really push the subject that much.

Aikido sensei was a perfectionist to the extreme. For some reason, he seems to be driven to stuff all kinds of things into my head. My schedule was really crazy for a four-year-old. I had to wake up at early morning before first light and study all the history and practice calligraphy. This was done till breakfast and after that, I had to practice several katas. Thankfully all physical aspects of my training was watered down as I was still young.

After that was over I had an art class. I had to draw various pictures of animals and even some landscapes of the Island. That was actually fun as Aikido sensei took me around the village to various locations for this class and I get to travel a lot. Then it was lunch and after that, it was basic math and solving puzzles. This class was one of my favourites as it reminded of my previous school life.

The evenings were totally free and I had to play with children. That was very horrible but I managed to form a group of several distant cousins to play tag. At the very least that provided me with a necessary physical exercise. The night times were spent on learning chakra theory. As I learned more about Chakra I came to realize that some of my guesses with Chakra was correct and the Uzumaki's had come to the same conclusion a long time ago.

The Uzumaki clan trained their ninja to first master their own minds to a certain extent then only will they teach the Chakra moulding to the young students. Their method of teaching was developed by analytical research into the behavioural properties of Chakra. There was no wonder the Uzumakis were sealing specialists and could manifest Chakra chains. Their thinking and knowledge of Chakra was on a whole another level.

For two years I trained under Aikido sensei in this schedule and now today I was going to be six years old. As I ran into my home which was farther away from the main clan compound I saw that there were several guests in my home. It would be rude to activate my Byakugan to sneak peek so I suppressed that urge and boldly walked into the house.

"Mom, I am home." I called as I entered my home under the careful watch of several old men and women

My mother came out of her room but there was a lost look on her face and I immediately knew there was some real shit going on that I was ignorant to. My mother carried a small backpack in her hands and her hands were shaking as she handed it over to me which I took confusingly.

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked as I had a bad feeling where this was going

"Forgive my manners, my child. My name is Nakamura Uzumaki." an old man with grey hair introduced himself

"It is good to meet you Nakamura San. My name is Varuna Uzumaki. Do you know what is going on here Nakamura San?" I asked after introducing myself

"You know you are only half an Uzumaki right?" Nakamura asked

"Yes, sir. I know my dad is a Hyuga. What has this got to do with what is happening here?" I asked confused

"The Hyuga clan has the Dojutsu that makes them very famous. Do you know what it is called?" Nakamura asked as if I was a child which is sort of true I guess and I humoured him

"The Byakugan. I have those eyes. I got it from my father." I said enthusiastically acting like a kid with a sugar rush and it worked like a charm as always. Practice makes everything perfect.

"Good. Now your father's family would really like you to be with them?" Nakamura said

"They can come here and stay with me and my mom." I said with a smile but on the inside, I understood what was going on finally

"Ah, well they would like you to be there and take the Hyuga name." Nakamura said and I made a face at that

"But I like my name." I said worriedly

"Good boy. Never forget your roots, my child. The Uzumaki name is a proud name to have and wear it with pride and dignity." Nakamura said with a large smile

The old lady close to Nakamura made a sound with her throat reminding the guy that he was talking with a six-year-old child.

"Anyhow, you won't have to become a Hyuga. We have managed to let you continue to be an Uzumaki but you will have to stay in Konoha from now on." Nakamura said

"What! Why?" I asked with widened eyes

"You don't have to worry. There is already an Uzumaki in Konoha. You will be starting a branch of Uzumaki clan in Konoha." Nakamura said with an easy smile

"So I can take my mom with me right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow

"Ah, your mother will come to Konoha after a while. She has some work to do here until then you can stay with another Uzumaki in Konoha. I have heard from your sensei that you like studying the ninja arts. The Uzumaki in Konoha is a powerful ninja and she can teach you all sorts of things far better." Nakamura said with a plastic smile

"So would you like to go Varuna? There will be many things that you can see. I hear that you love to travel. This will be a grand adventure for you." the old lady nearby Nakamura San asked

"I guess I can go to Konoha. Is it true that there are large stone faces on their mountains?" I asked in excitement and served my act like a pro

"Oh yes. I saw it myself. You will surely like to see all those sights and guess what? You will be staying with the Senju clan." Nakamura said as if that would cheer up a kid that was going to a distant land without any of his family but I acted all cheered up

By evening I was all set up to leave Uzu and my mother never came to see me off. It was understandable as it would be highly unlikely that she will ever get to see me for years. I had several guards with me as well to escort me all the way to Konoha. I had this feeling something like this would happen but when nothing happened in the first few years I thought the Clan was keeping me a secret. Looks like I was wrong. I wonder why the Uzumaki clan gave me up to Konoha.

**KONOHA (Hokage's office)**

Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage of Konoha let out a puff of smoke as he relaxed back into his chair. Smoking has been a hereditary trait of all Sarutobi clan members and it certainly helped him to relax after a good day's work. After the First Shinobi war ended with the death of the Second Hokage he inherited the office from his mentor Tobirama Senju. Inspired by the sacrifice of his sensei he has been dedicating almost all of his time for the betterment if village.

Frankly speaking, Konoha was in shambles when he inherited the office of Hokage. The war took the lives of two Hokages that were the founding pillars of the village. Without them, the village lost its most powerful warriors that could intimidate armies of other nations by their presence alone. Then there was also the fact that Konoha had lost many of its good shinobi in fighting the war on multiple fronts. A good portion of Senju clan had died fighting the enemies of Konoha in the war and the same is true for many other clans. They had lost many good shinobi as the five great ninja villages threw everything into the war until finally an armistice was signed stopping the bloodshed.

After the war was over he was concentrating on building up the Village back to its previous shape and expanded the curriculum of the Ninja Academy. He had come to realise that the village needed more shinobi with a diverse skillset that could fill in roles that are best suited for the village. The only way to achieve this goal was by breaking the stigma that came with different clans. It was not an easy job but with carefully arranging the teams there was a marked improvement. It was Senju Tobirama's dream to make the ninja of the village be loyal first to the village over the clan.

It was for this reason that he didn't allow the Hyuga clan custody of Varuna Uzumaki. From what he understood Hyuga Shiro was a ladies man through and through. The guy was a known womanizer and he theorized the Hyuga might have seduced the Uzumaki woman into his bed during one of the joint missions in the war. Whatever the case Hyuga Shiro died towards the end of the war and left him to deal with the clusterfuck that remained in its wake.

On one hand, the Hyuga demanded the child be handed over to the clan so as to ensure the Byakugan never leave outside the clan. Then there was the fact that the Uzumaki clan had legal custody so to speak over the child as the parents of the child never married so the child would automatically take the Uzumaki name. Everything was further complicated since the Uzumaki Clan was from another village who were Konoha's strongest ally.

But ally or not the fact that the kid activated the Byakugan at age four could not be dismissed that easily. As Hokage, he had to put the interests of the village over any of his personal opinions and that is how he came up with a compromise that was acceptable to the Uzumaki Clan and at the same time greatly benefited Konoha.

He proposed to create a branch of Uzumaki clan in Konoha under the leadership of Varuna Uzumaki. This way the boy will still stay connected to the Uzumaki clan and the Byakugan will stay inside Konoha. This made the village council, Uzumaki clan and the fire Damiyo happy. The only one that was left unhappy with this whole affair was the Hyuga clan and he had strong suspicions that they were looking forward to placing the cursed seal on the Uzumaki boy.

Whatever the intentions the Hyuga clan had for the boy he managed to put a stop to it. The fact that the boy will be under the care of Mito Uzumaki alleviated any safety concerns regarding the boy as he didn't think there was anyone stupid enough to challenge that woman.

He was brought out of his musings as he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." He called

His assistant entered the office.

"Hokage same, Mito Sama is here to see you."

"Let her in Akio San." He said as he sat up straight in his chair

He watched the wife of the Shodai walk into his office with a small smile. The office must have reminded her of Hashirama as it was rate to see the woman smile nowadays.

"Welcome back Mito sama. Take a seat. Do you want tea?" Hiruzen asked

"No need for that Hokage sama. I believe you asked me here for a reason." Mito asked as she took her seat

"I just wanted to inform you about our young guest from Uzu." Hiruzen said as he puffed the smoke

"So the boy has started his journey from Uzu?" Mito asked

"Yes, Mito sama. A team of ninja will be waiting for them in Wave country and from there, our ninja will be escorting Varuna Kun to our village. I am told it will only take a few days before they reach here. So I just wanted to give you a heads up." Hiruzen said with an easygoing smile

"I guess you want to enrol him in the Ninja Academy." Mito commented

"Preferably after he spends one year in the village. I don't want to overwhelm the kid with everything. It will be difficult for him to live in another village and away from his mother. I don't want to burden the child with more emotional baggage." Hiruzen said

"I guess that means I get to teach the kid for one year. I always wanted an Uzumaki as my student and it seems my wish is coming true." Mito said

"I have also been contacted by the Uzumaki clan regarding the construction of the new clan compound. They requested your presence and aid during the construction phase." Hiruzen informed her

"I guess I can just hire some of the Genin for D Rank missions to fasten the construction now that Hashirama is no longer with us. You know he could just leave some hand signs and suddenly a house would appear right before you." Mito said with a watery smile lost in her memories

"I guess Tsunade chan will get a little cousin to terrorize when she comes home." Hiruzen said with a smile as he changed the subject

"Don't get me started on that girl. I had hoped her gambling habits would stop with learning under your influence. It has only gotten worse. Do you know she spends all her allowance on gambling and she loses every time? I think she got the worst luck out of all of us." Mito complained

"Perhaps let Tsunade chan shoulder some responsibilities for a while." Hiruzen suggested uncertainly

"What sort of responsibilities?" Mito asked

"Perhaps Tsunade chan can take care of Varuna kun and show him around the village once he arrives." Hiruzen suggested

"Hmm, perhaps that is a good idea." Mito mused

**XXXXX**

I found myself in a deep forest with some of the Konoha Ninja that was escorting me. From what I gathered Konoha was nearing fast after days of travel. Thankfully the ninja that escorted me gave me piggyback ride so I didn't have to do that much work.

I left Uzu in a ship that sailed into a port in the Wave country. On the way, I saw the gigantic whirlpools that surrounded Uzushigakure and that was very cool but scary as hell.Thankfully the ship steered clear of the whirlpools and I kissed the ground when I landed back on the mainland. From there the Konoha ninja provided me escort. There were a Senju and a Yamanaka in the group but the rest of the ninjas were not from any clan that I knew of. Thankfully there was no hidden villain waiting for us on our way and so far the journey has been smooth. Actually, I became relaxed after we entered the borders of Fire country. Right now I was comfortably staying at the back of Kosuke Yamanaka who was jumping through the trees until finally, our group reached a clearing where I could see the wooden walls that protected Konoha.

"Finally, we are here. This is Konoha." Kosuke said with a smile and I watched everything around me with wide curious eyes. I knew that from this moment forward a new chapter in my life was opening and I couldn't wait to find what waited for me inside the village.


	2. Making new friends

**KONOHAGAKURE**

I entered Konoha with my escort and now that I am safely inside the village walls I was walking on my own two feet for a change. The village was buzzing with activity and I felt several discrete eyes following me. On instinct, I activated my Byakugan and I managed to see some Hyugas watching my every movement. Once they realised that I was watching them they quickly disappeared from my field of vision. In response to that, I deactivated my own eyes and began to look around the village. I especially liked the gigantic stone monument. The faces of Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama and Sarutobi Hiruzen were etched on the huge mountain and it was a breathtaking sight to see.

We walked through the village until finally, my escort reached a large building that was almost at the centre of the village. We entered the building and my escort was asked to report elsewhere leaving me in the Hokage's room. The room was filled with paperwork all around in shelves and even some on the Hokage's desk. I also saw the portraits of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama nailed to the wall behind the Hokage's desk. I was not that much surprised to see a young Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting behind the desk smoking a cigarette but it was quite weird as the image of the Third Hokage in my mind is that of an old man.

"Welcome to Konoha, Varuna Kun." the Hokage greeted me as he stood up from his seat to walk towards me

"Thank you Hokage sama. Konoha is beautiful." I said with a respectful bow

"That is wonderful to hear. How was your journey to the village? Did you have fun?" the Hokage asked with a small smile

"It was great. Yamanaka San was so fast and he can jump through trees." I said in childlike wonder

"I am happy you enjoyed your travel arrangements. Come, let's go and meet your distant cousins." the Hokage said

"But some of my bags are with Yamanaka San and his team." I said

"You don't need to worry. Everything has been moved to the Senju clan compound." the Hokage said and he led me out of his office and together they walked to the Senju clan compound which was not far from the Hokage building

* * *

"So you are Varuna Uzumaki. I have to say it is strange to see those eyes on an Uzumaki." Mito observed as she scrutinized me

"You look fine as you are Varuna Kun. My name is Hanaku Senju and it is a great pleasure to meet you." the man standing close to Mito introduced himself

"It is good to meet you as well." I greeted back and I realised this might be the father of Tsunade and the son of Hashirama Senju

"My name is Tsuyoshi Denshiko. I am Hanako's wife. We would like to stay and chat but duty calls." the woman with blonde hair said and they walked out of the house

"Ah, I forgot. They have a mission in the Hot water country. Forgive me, I must also return back to the office. I hope we can speak again Varuna Kun." Hiruzen said as he left in a rush

"That leaves us both. You do look cute." Mito said as she pinched me on my cheek

"Oww." I yelped and rubbed my sore cheek as I glared at her

"So what is happening in Uzu these days. Any new seals that they have created in the past few years that I should know of?" she asked

"How should I know?" I asked rhetorically

"That's true I guess." she said with a sigh

"You miss Uzu don't you?" I asked softly

"Uzu is my home. Of course, I am missing it." Mito said with a huff

"Why didn't you visit Uzu then?" I asked curiously

"There are some security reasons. Forget about it. Come, I will show you your room." Mito changed the subject and led me around the compound giving me a short tour

* * *

I lay awake at night as sleep didn't come easily to me. Maybe it was because of the absence of the sound of waves in the sea. In Uzu I lived near the beach and I enjoyed the warm embrace of the sea breeze. Now that I am in Konoha the silence was somewhat disturbing. There is also another fact that was keeping me awake. I had tried to not let the matter bother me that much but arriving in Konoha really brought back some dark thoughts.

The thought I am struggling with is regarding the destruction of Uzu. I know for a fact the opening move in the second shinobi war was the siege of Uzu done by Iwa, Kumo and Kiri. Anybody with a working brain will know that Konoha had previous intelligence about the attack and yet chose to do nothing. There was no way Konoha or any village for that matter miss a massive build-up of armies of three great shinobi villages. Then there is also the fact that Uzu is close to the fire country and the only other country close to Uzu is the Water country. So Kiri attacking Uzu can be ruled out as a surprise attack but both Iwa and Kumo are worlds apart and they need access to large fleets to transport their troops to attack Uzu. With Iwa and Uzu on two extreme ends of the continent, the shinobi of Iwa must have either accessed Uzu by sailing all the way around Kumo or by sailing with Kumo shinobi with the fleets of Kumo. The last option seems more plausible and that requires Iwa to move their shinobi through the Sound country and Hot water country. Seeing as these two countries share close borders with the Fire country it was safe to assume Konoha knew but never interfered.

Now that I am stuck here I will not be able to subtly shore up defences in Uzu by the time the eventual attack comes. Frankly, I will be lucky if my correspondence with my family in Uzu is not monitored closely. That was wishful thinking as I am sure Konoha will be keeping a very close eye on me as I am a flight risk. There was a part of me that was jumping to help Uzu desire any difficulties that I may face but there was also a fear of changing the timeline too much. Already my presence was going to cause some inevitable changes but keeping the timeline intact should be a priority for my own self-interest. The only advantage I have right now is that I have information in my mind regarding the Shinobi world and information is a power on its own. If I change things too much all the information I have become useless. So it is in my best interest to never share the information I have with others and at the same time ensure things go as smooth as possible as it will help me predict a lot of events accurately.

I know life isn't fair and all but it made me very uncomfortable to intentionally do nothing while a whole lot of people including children get slaughtered for just being part of the Uzumaki clan. From what I know the attack happened 20 years after the first war so there was still time for me to make a decision. I was born towards the end of the war so that means I have 14 years to amass as much power to both survive the war and to make a decision regarding the fate of Uzumaki clan. With those morbid thoughts running through my mind I closed my eyes trying to get some sleep.

I woke up the next morning early as usual despite my lack of sleep last night. I walked out of my room and went straight to take a shower. After becoming fresh I decided to read a scroll about the Adamantine sealing chains. For some time I have been trying to manifest them to the best of my abilities. There are two ways an Uzumaki can manifest the chains. One was by being born with the ability naturally and the other was by training for the manifestation consciously. I know I am not a natural so I had to depend on the training method the Uzumaki clan developed.

Not everyone could manifest the chains by will. One must need a certain chakra density to undergo the training method. This is tested among the children of the clan when they first activate their chakra. Even then very few sign up for this training or even activate the chains. The difficulty is because of the nature of the sealing chains itself. It is not an elemental transformation technique like other bloodline limits rather it is a Yin release technique. So the only way to artificially manifest the chains is through mastering the Yin chakra and that was rather difficult to achieve.

Thankfully I have a high amount of Yin chakra within my body but there were certain exercises that I needed to perform to master my Yin chakra. The first exercise was obviously meditation and I was already somewhat an expert in that area. So I skipped to the second step which required me to create a mindscape. To do that I needed to enter a deep meditative trance and access a deeper part of my mind and then build a simple platform. After that, I will have to create a doorway that is connected to my soul and mind. Thereafter I will have to apply a Yin seal on the doorway to access the spiritual chakra from the astral plane.

The process may sound easy but the fact is that it required a lot of hard work, time and brain activity to finish all these steps. To enhance the brains higher functions there were several exercises suggested in the scroll. Certain techniques to simultaneously work the two hemispheres of the brain was also there. One of the basic exercises was to write and draw with both hands. With a sigh, I closed the scroll and began practising my Kanji and brush strokes with both hands.

* * *

Hiruzen was reading the latest reports on the revenue returns of the village and so far they were holding up. Considering that they have just emerged from the war it was a blessing in disguise. Well, he has his predecessors to thank for that actually. The war was brutal and killed many shinobi and civilians alike but Konoha Shinobi were under strict orders by Senju Hashirama to never attack the civilian population of other countries. Lord Second also followed the same path in the war when he took over. Both of them had their own reasons to issue this order. Hashirama Senju issued the order because he didn't want to make innocents suffer while Tobirama Senju wanted the civilians to be spared because Konoha will lose many of the missions it gets from them.

Whatever the case may be their decision did bring a lot of much-needed revenue for the village. Konoha was even getting missions from far away lands and even some from their rival countries like Wind and Earth country. It was also true for the smaller villages like Ame and Taki. The absence of his predecessors will be truly felt in the coming years and it was a loss that he doubted he could fill with anyone.

His musings were put on hold as his office door opened and he saw his three students walk in and that put back a smile to his face.

"Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Welcome back." Hiruzen greeted his students as they entered his office

"We have completed our mission to the capital sensei." Orochimaru said

"Did you deliver the scroll directly to the Damiyo?" Hiruzen asked

"Yes, Sensei." the three of them answered in unison

"Good. Each of you must submit your mission report within one day and you all are dismissed except for Tsunade." Hiruzen said

With a bow both Orochimaru and Jiraiya left the office while throwing a curious look to their teammate.

"No need to look worried Tsunade. I just wanted to inform you about something." Hiruzen said

"Inform me about what?" Tsunade asked in confusion

"One of your distant relative from the Uzumaki clan has arrived in Konoha. He is a half Uzumaki through his mother's side and half Hyuga from his father's side. It was decided that he will start a branch of Uzumaki clan in Konoha and right now he is staying in the Senju clan compound. Your grandmother has custody of the boy till he becomes a ninja of our village." Hiruzen said

"Why didn't anybody tell me about all of this?" Tsunade asked

"There was some secrecy involved as it was imperative to keep the arrival of the Uzumaki clan a secret." Hiruzen explained

"What is his name?" Tsunade asked

"You can ask him yourself when you meet him. I would also appreciate it if you could show him around the village. He is unfamiliar with our village and it will be better if he adjusts early and make friends with other children." Hiruzen proposed

"I guess I can do that." Tsunade said

"Then I won't keep you away from your home any longer. You are dismissed." Hiruzen said and watched his student go

* * *

"I'm home." Tsunade shouted as she entered the clan compound but it remained vacant to her calls. It was not a surprise for her as the numbers of the Senju clan have dwindled significantly in the war and all available members were serving the village in the field. Still, she had hoped her parents would be present here.

She searched the compound for her grandmother and finally, she found her sitting in the garden with a young red-headed boy.

"Grandmother." Tsunade shouted as she engulfed the older women in a hug from behind

"Tsunade! I see you have returned from the capital. How was your trip?" Mito asked

"It was boring. What are you going, grandma?" Tsunade asked

"Just watching something very amusing. Look..." Mito pointed at a tree that was far away from the garden and Tsunade saw a small boy trying to climb the tree using his two feet. Her eyes widened as she saw the red-headed boy climbs the tree halfway and then fall right back into the ground.

"He is practising tree walking exercise. How old is he?" Tsunade asked in surprise

"He just turned six last week." Mito answered

"But why is he learning the tree walking exercise before he even joined the academy." Tsunade asked flabbergasted

"An Uzumaki needs to have perfect chakra control for the seals we create to be effective and superior. The clan teaches the children chakra control from an early age. If you were a little more interested in sealing I would have made you the greatest sealing expert in Konoha." Mito said as she stood up from her seated position and moved towards the tree followed closely by Tsunade

"Marina, come down here and meet my granddaughter." Mito called as she and Tsunade stood at the base of the tree and Varuna jumped down from the top branch and landed on his feet on the ground

"Sensei was not joking when he said you were half Hyuga. It's good to meet you. I am Tsunade Senju. You may address me as Elder sister from now on." Tsunade said with a superior look

"Oh, ok." Varuna agreed uncertainly

"You look cute." Tsunade said as she pinched Varuna's cheek

"Oww. Stop it." Varuna cried as he managed to escape from Tsunade's hand and run towards the house

"Come back here." Tsunade ran after him screaming idle threats along the way

Mito laughed seeing her granddaughter chasing after the red-headed boy who was running like his life depended on it. It was high time some laughter returned to the Senju clan, she thought

* * *

"Where are you dragging me?" I asked as my self proclaimed elder sister dragged me through the streets of Konoha in a mad rush

"Don't act like a baby little brother. You will see soon enough where I am taking you." Tsunade said as she dragged him away from the streets and entered into the training area of shinobi. They walked among strong thick trees for some time until finally, they came to a clearing and I saw two others present there.

"Tsunade chan who is this?" Jiraiya asked as he curiously looked at me

"Meet Varuna Uzumaki. He is a distant cousin of mine. He is going to stay here in Konoha from now on." Tsunade said excitedly as she pushed me towards Jiraiya and Orochimaru

"It's nice to meet you Varuna. I am Jiraiya, the friend of Toads and breaker of hearts." Jiraiya introduced himself as he took on a ridiculous pose

"Don't scare the kid away with your foolishness Jiraiya. You can call me Orochimaru. Tell me something, do you have the Byakugan?" Orochimaru asked as he looked curiously at my eyes

"Yes, I have. My father was a Hyuga and my mother an Uzumaki." I answered

"Interesting. Have you joined the ninja academy?" Orochimaru asked

"Not yet. Mito sama said that I will be enrolled next year." I said dejectedly

"He is going to ace the Academy. He is a little genius." Tsunade gushed

"Really?" Orochimaru looked at me curiously

"Yes. He even knows the tree-climbing exercise and he has not even entered the Academy." Tsunade proudly said

"Oh come on. Not another genius. They are everywhere. Orochimaru, your kind is multiplying." Jiraiya complained

"If that was the case then we have a bright future to look forward to." Orochimaru neatly replied

"Oh cut it off you two. Let's not waste any more time and train." Tsunade said as she hit both Orochimaru and Jiraiya on their head

"What about Varuna?" Jiraiya asked as he rubbed his head

"He can stay up in the trees. He will be safe." Tsunade said as she turned to me and pointed to a faraway tree. I ran towards the tree and climbed to its top and made myself comfortable on a branch and activated my Byakugan.

As the three students of the third Hokage began their training I was analysing their Chakra pathways and how they behaved with every katas and Ninjutsu that performed. Orochimaru was a wind user and he seems to use only a limited amount of Chakra for his Jutsu and it was as strong as it could be. Jiraiya was primarily a fire user and his Chakra expenditure was high compared to others and the way both fire and wind Chakra was forming was completely different as well. Tsunade was definitely an earth style user and her chakra expenditure was very low than even Orochimaru. Considering she had large reserves that was a scary thought as she could throw around Jutsu for a long time and never break a sweat.

After some time they stopped their practice and began to settle down beneath the tree that I was sitting on.

"Now that we have finished our individual training we have to focus on our second element. We are not going to be Chunin forever and to be a Jounin we must at least master two or more elements." Orochimaru said

"So let's go and ask Sensei for help." Jiraiya suggested

"No, that won't do. Sensei will be already busy enough with his job as Hokage and we don't need to burden him." Orochimaru said

"What do you suggest then Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked

"Between the three of us, we have Wind, Earth and Fire Jutsu users. If we teach each other, another element will be added to our arsenal." Orochimaru proposed

"I guess that's a good idea as any. So who will start first?" Jiraiya asked

"I will start." Orochimaru said as he stood up and faced Tsunade and Jiraiya

"Now there are some things you should know about wind release before we attempt to transform our chakra. Wind users are rare in our village as most of our ninja are aligned to fire. For this reason, a wind user is an asset as Wind enhances fire. Now wind chakra can be used to cut down any object if you know how to sharpen and condense one's chakra. So sharpening one's chakra is the first step towards mastering wind chakra. So take a leaf and try to cut it with your chakra alone. When you have managed to split the leaf perfectly with your chakra you would have succeeded in converting your chakra into wind. After that, we will do another exercise to control the wind chakra. So let's begin with the first exercise and I will show you how it is done." with that said Orochimaru took a fallen leaf from the ground and began to cut the leaf slowly with his chakra

I was observing this from the tree branch and I analysed the way his chair was behaving as it converted into wind chakra. The leaf split into two in the hands of Orochimaru and fell on the ground.

"Now you guys try." Orochimaru said as he observed his two friends

Not to waste such an opportunity I also took a leaf and held it in my hand. Just like Orochimaru said I began to sharpen and condense my chakra output and I studied my own chakra movements with my Byakugan. The dojutsu helped me see my chakra and helped me to correct the shape and form it took. I sharpened my chakra as much as possible and slowly began to cut the leaf. Surprisingly it went well and the leaf split into perfect halves.

"Look at that. Varuna has done it." Orochimaru pointed at me and exclaimed

Tsunade and Jiraiya turned towards me and saw I was holding a perfectly split leaf.

"How is that possible?" Jiraiya complained

"Varuna Kun paid attention when I was speaking unlike you Jiraiya." Orochimaru said and he turned to me.

"Come down here Varuna Kun. Let us see how you did it." Orochimaru called

I jumped down from the tree and landed on my feet as I strengthened my legs with Chakra. Tsunade gave me a leaf and encouraged me with a smile.

Just like before I sharpened my chakra as much as I could and split the leaf into two equal halves to the astonishment of my audience.

"Amazing. You analysed the way I moulded my chakra using your Byakugan and used that as a basis to regulate your chakra didn't you?" Orochimaru theorised

"Yes," I answered

"Hmm. Try doing it without your Byakugan activated." Orochimaru said

I deactivated my eyes and once again channelled my chakra. This time I had to rely on the feeling of my chakra and fortunately the leaf split in two.

"See...He understood what I explained and applied himself unlike you." Orochimaru said as he looked at Jiraiya and that started an argument between the two

"Oh stop it you two." Tsunade once again hit the both of them on their heads breaking their argument

"Orochimaru what is the next step?" Tsunade asked

"Well, before that I would recommend to cut multiple leaves simultaneously to improve the chakra conversion. After that is complete the next step is to project wind chakra to long distances. This can be trained by cutting a waterfall using wind chakra and hold back it's flow momentarily." Orochimaru said as he rubbed his head painfully

"Ok, we will continue training the next day and if we don't see any improvement we will go for another element. Is that ok." Tsunade proposed and her two teammates agreed

"In that case, we have some other plans. See you guys tomorrow." Tsunade said as she dragged me away from the training ground

"Where are we going elder sister?" I asked

"For shopping." Tsunade said like that was obvious

"But I have all the clothes I need." I complained

"Stop whining like a baby, little brother. Besides, you only have the clothes bought from Uzu. Maybe you will like the clothes in Konoha more. It will be fun." Tsunade said as she dragged me back into the streets

Within minutes Tsunade found the shop she was looking for and pushed me inside despite my protests.

"Welcome back Tsunade San and..." a girl similar to my age greeted us and stared at me like I was a fascinating creature in a zoo

"Who are you?" the blond-haired girl asked me tilting her head

"Don't be rude to our guests Asuna. Welcome back Tsunade hime and who is your young friend?" an older version of the girl asked

"Oh, this is my cousin. Introduce yourself, little cousin." Tsunade said as she bonked me on the head breaking my staring contest with the girl

"Hi, I am Varuna Uzumaki. It's nice to meet you." I said with a small now

"I am Kasumi Yamanaka. It's nice to meet you as well, Uzumaki San." the older women introduced herself

"It's nice to meet you Varuna San. My name is Asuna Yamanaka. Why haven't I seen you here before?" the smaller girl asked me

"I lived in Uzushigakure." I answered

"Where is that?" Asuna asked curiously

"Enough Asuna. How many times do I have to tell you to not interrogate our customers? I am sorry for this Tsunade hime, Uzumaki San." Kasumi apologised

"No problem. Now how about getting some clothes for this little guy." Tsunade said as she crushed me in a hug from behind

That launched the most boring time in my life as I was literally asked to try on everything that was available in my size. There were several cool ninja outfits there but there was no need for that as I was not yet a ninja. To my horror, after purchasing clothes for me Tsunade began her own shopping.

I let out a sigh and decided to sit back and meditate for a while. But that plan was thrown out of the window as Asuna knocked me on my head.

"Are you sleeping Varuna San." Asuna asked

"No, I was just meditating." I said with a pointed stare

"Huh, what's meditation?" Asuna asked

"Sitting still in a place, I guess." I said uncertainly

"That sounds boring. Do you want to play with me and my friends?" Asuna asked

"Your friends? Who are your friends?" I asked curiously

"There is Yumiko Nara, Sora Inuzuka, Kanao Akimichi, Shiro Aburame and Takashi Hatake. We usually play in the park at evenings. Do you want to come?" Asuna asked

"I guess I can try to be there." I said uncertainly as I was not quite sure what else to say

"Don't worry Asuna chan. I will make sure this little guy comes to the park today." Tsunade said as she pinched my cheek

"Stop it..." I desperately tried to fight her off which proved to be unsuccessful

"We will come by later Asuna chan. Take care." Tsunade said as she paid the bills and I followed her out of the shop

* * *

After having lunch with Mito and Tsunade I decided to spend some time on my Kunai and Shuriken training. At the moment my goal only was to perfect my accuracy. I could only throw only at a limited range with the physical power I possess right now. Still, I was adamant in practising and improving as much as I could and I also practised in setting up traps using ninja wire. Sometimes I augmented myself with chakra to increase my range but that quickly exhausted me especially when I was also using my chakra for jumping from trees.

After three hours of practice, I decided to take some rest and sat under a tree. I didn't know when but I nodded off.

I was jolted out of my slumber as someone shook me awake. I groggily opened my eyes and found myself facing the stern expression of Tsunade.

"You were practising again, weren't you? Get up, you have to go to the park remember." Tsunade said as she dragged me up from my seat

"Do I have to?" I mumbled

"You need to mingle with children your age. Being a ninja doesn't isn't about personal power only. A good Shinobi must be a good comrade as well. A good comrade will have others to watch his/her back in tough spots. That is the Will of Fire and it can only be created by the bonds you form with others in the village. So you are going to that park and play with those children even if I have to drag you all the way to that park." Tsunade exploded towards the end and I felt myself like I was a small mouse that had unfortunately ended up in front of a lion and I began to nod my head rapidly to let her know that I was agreeing with whatever that she was saying. That must have worked as she backed off from my face and looked at me sternly.

"Good. Now go to the park and play with those kids. I will come and check on you occasionally and If I don't find you in the park..." Tsunade let her threat hang and I quickly dashed out of the Senju compound in a mad rush to the park with full speed

I later found myself in the park and out of breath from all the running.

"Varuna San come here." Asuna called as soon as she saw me

I walked towards her and a few other kids that were in the process of moulding the sand into a shape that was almost like a wall.

"Guys this is the new friend that I was talking about." Asuna introduced me to her friends

"Hi, I am Varuna Uzumaki. Pleased to meet you all." I smiled as I looked at the number of curious eyes that were on me

"Huh, I have never seen you around here. Anyway, I am Takashi Hatake. Pleased to meet ya." Takashi and I shook hands and he was taller than me and had blonde hair

"Good to meet you as well Varuna San. I am Yumiko Nara." A girl with black hair and black eyes introduced herself but her focus was on the sand wall that they were building

"No time to was the on introductions. Join us in building the wall Varuna San. After that, we will have to attack enemy positions." Asuna said as she and Takashi went back to creating the wall

"What enemy?" I asked confusedly as I sat beside them and gathered sand and began shaping it into a wall

"Those enemies." Takashi pointed at another group of kids that were building a sand wall not far away from our position. As I looked at them they waved at me and went back to creating their own sand wall.

It took some time but eventually, we finished the wall and we went looking for small stones. We collected as many as we could and waited for the other team to finish the wall and collect the stones. After that, it was an all-out war. I used by Byakugan to effectively inform my team whenever the 'enemies' were going to throw the stones. This made it very simple to defeat our foes by our combined efforts. In the end, we managed to win the game as we destroyed their sand wall and injure our 'enemies'.

After that was over the other team had to buy us the evening snacks. I met with the other team that comprised of Hiro Aburame, Kanao Akimichi and Sora Inuzuka. In the end, they ended up spending their money on all of us and we all ate Dango that evening. That was not the end and I ended up playing a game of hide and seek with all of them till the sun was about to set. I said my goodbye and returned to the compound with a tired body but also with a happy feeling. I guess I missed Uzu more than I let on and spending some time with my new friends lightened my mood. That night when I practised my seals it came off more easy and perfect than my previous attempts. I guess I will have to thank Tsunade for pushing me this evening and with that happy thought, I decided to get some sleep as I have to wake up early for my lessons.


	3. A new friend

**KONOHAGAKURE**

Under the tutelage of Mito Uzumaki, I made leaps of improvement in my sealing techniques. She taught me the simpler ways of perfecting the brushstrokes as well as minimising the size of seals. As the size of seals gets reduced it becomes hard for others to read the intent behind the seals. This helps to confuse the enemy and make it very difficult to be deactivated by anyone other than the original creator. Mito sama also started to train me in Water release techniques as well. I didn't really have water affinity as I was Wind and Fire aligned but Water release techniques was a must for a Sealing master. Water release helps in lacing seals by hand with manipulating ink. So a sealing master must have knowledge about elemental transformation of Chakra. That was an ongoing process but my main focus was on mastering Yin chakra.

The scrolls detailing the formation of Adamantine sealing chains were written by Arashi Uzumaki. He was the only person in the Uzumaki clan that had successfully activated the Adamantine sealing chains artificially. I completely studied the scroll that Arashi wrote but at the end of it, there was a Yin seal. The seal on the scroll actually was a storage seal but what baffled me was that it could only be activated by pure Yin chakra. Usually, all storage seals were activated and created by Yang chakra. This was the first Yin seal that I encountered that is designed as a storage seal. I didn't even know that such a thing was possible which is why I asked about this to Mito sama.

"Ah, you were studying to activate the Adamantine sealing chains all this time? I should have guessed." Mito said with a snort

"Why? What's wrong with that?" I asked baffled by her dismissive reaction

"That scroll was written by Arashi Uzumaki and it is true that he managed to develop the sealing chains but nobody in the clan has ever been able to replicate the process." Mito informed me

"But why?" I asked

"Because nobody has managed to manipulate pure Yin chakra like Arashi Uzumaki could do. Several records show that he was an oddball in the clan and a very versatile shinobi. He was most famous for his use of a spirit weapon called Vajra. In my youth, I dreamed of wielding that weapon and ruling over the entire world." Mito said with a reminiscent look

"What is Vajra? I have never heard about such a thing in my life." I asked with surprise

"Well, I don't know whether this the original story behind it but I will tell you what I know. The Uzumaki clan was an old family that is based on Uzu. The Clan existed far before the warring clans period. But the clan was not the Ninja clan like it was now as the Uzumaki's were the ruling clan of the Daimyo of Uzu. The land itself was named after the Uzumaki clan.

Anyway, slowly the members of the Uzumaki clan began to show an aptitude for chakra and gradually this made it impossible for us not to come into clash with other clans in the Fire Nation. Somewhere along the way, the clan found itself in an alliance with the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha and Uzumaki working together was a nightmare for the Senju clan. The Senju began targeting the Uzumaki clan and began assassinating its members before the clan members could even come to the Fire Nation.

One day the head of the clan was killed by a Senju. The clan head position fell to his eldest son Nagumo Uzumaki. The new leader of the Uzumaki clan was an expert Wind user. He personally led the Uzumaki clan into battle against the Senju. His wind Jutsu was so strong that it is said that he unleashed the winds from the four corners of the world upon the Senju clan and decimated their forces. The battle was said to claim almost all the lives of the attacking Senju clan along with their clan head and thus exacting revenge for Nagumo's father.

The Senju elected a new clan head as the previous head didn't have any children. The new leader of the Senju clan knew that if the Uzumaki Clan joined forces with Uchiha clan there was a good chance that the Senju would be wiped out. To avoid this fate the Senju clan negotiated a truce and managed to quench the thirst for revenge of the Uzumaki clan by a marriage alliance. The sister of the new Senju clan head married Nagumo Uzumaki and as a show of faith the Senju gave up their spirit weapon Vajra to Nagumo as a wedding present." Mito narrated the story

"What exactly is the Vajra? How come the Senju have it in the first place?" I asked curiously

"According to legends, the Vajra is a weapon created out of bones of a Celestial being. The weapon is said to be used by a God and was gifted to the Sage of Six paths. The Senju clan claim to be a descendant of the sage and perhaps that's how they got it. The Vajra is also the symbol of the Senju clan." Mito said as she pointed at a wall where the Senju clan symbol was proudly displayed.

"So where is the Vajra right now? Does the Uzumaki clan still have it?" I asked eagerly

"The Vajra became the primary weapon of each clan head after Nagumo Uzumaki but since the clan became blood relatives with the Senju the alliance with Uchiha shifted. The clan then came to a decision to support the Senju in their struggle against the Uchiha and at the same time the clan took a vow not to kill even a single Uchiha in the memory of their close alliance. In the end, the Uzumaki clan slowly began to withdraw from warring with other clans and began to dabble in seals and sea trade. Slowly the need for Vajra became unnecessary and it faded into the background. The last known user of the weapon was Arashi Uzumaki and after that, no one knows where it is." Mito said with a careless shrug

"What exactly does the Vajra do?" I asked curiously after some time

"It is said that whoever possesses that weapon will become the master of the sky. Wind and lightning will bend to the will of the wielder of Vajra. The weapon is indestructible and it is said that it can blow off mountains by its power alone." Mito explained with a hint of nostalgia

"So what about the Yin seal that is in the scroll?" I asked as I brought back the conversation into relevant things

"As I said, only Arashi Uzumaki could manipulate the Yin chakra to such an extent. I have no idea how he managed to form a storage seal using Yin chakra as it is not the Uzumaki style of sealing. I guess only an Uzumaki who is able to manipulate pure Yin chakra can activate the seal." Mito mused

"Then I will master the Yin release and activate the seal." I said with conviction

"Why do you want to activate the Adamantine sealing chains so badly? You already have the Byakugan. Isn't your time better spent on training to use your eyes and seals." Mito asked curiously

"I guess I had this idea if I activated the Adamantine chains then the clan would be happier. I don't think the clan elders liked me that much and my mother because I was only half Uzumaki." I said a little sadly which was kind of true as the elders were very dismissive of my mother and it was only because of my grandmother that I was even trained that much in Uzu

"I guess that is a good reason as any." Mito said with a sad look as she and her children were also seen as out outsiders to the Uzumaki clan as well

"If you are confident that you want to activate the sealing chains then I guess it would help you if I show you what you are aiming for." Mito said and she activated her own Adamantine sealing chains

One lone golden chain appeared before me and I placed my hand on the chain and activated my Byakugan. It was just as I thought, the chain was completely made out of Yin chakra.

"Mito sama if you know to push out only Yin chakra then can't you teach me how you are doing that." I asked

"That's the worst part of these chains Varuna. I have no idea how my Yin chakra is getting drawn out like this. Many clan members have tried to analyse the working of these chains but so far we have come up empty." Mito answered as she dismissed the chain altogether

"Don't worry Mito sama. I have got a feel of the Yin chakra inside you. I will train more until I will be finally able to produce the sealing chains. That is a promise." I said with a smile and thumbs up

Mito laughed lightly at the boy who was running back into his room. At least he has the will to see through his goals like a certain someone she knew. Hashirama I wish you were here to see all of this with me, she thought sadly.

* * *

I was pretty much obsessively working on mastering Yin chakra from that point onwards. I can still remember what I felt when I touched the sealing chain of Mito sama. With that feeling, I tried to draw out my own Yin chakra in my meditative state. The first few days nothing happened but on the fourth day, I was able to successfully create a material world inside my mind. The very next day when I entered into a meditative trance surprisingly I fell into my mindscape successfully. It was at this point that I knew that I was on the right track. After that my efforts were to create the doorway to my soul.

My struggles began once again as the stupid door won't just form immediately. I had to spend a lot of time and effort to even form an inch of the door. It was a very slow process and if some of my Yang chakra seeped into the door's framework then it would just crumble down entirely and I would have to start from scratch.

I shared my success of the first stage with Mito sama and she was really amazed and curious where this would lead. To argument my Yin chakra she helped me to construct a Yin seal and placed it on my forehead. The seal actually never controls the Yin chakra but pulls back the Yang chakra and thus the Yin chakra will be free to do as I please. The entire process took months as I had to learn to create and put the Yin seal on my body.

I had to stop any use of my Byakugan to conserve as much chakra so that I could use the maximum amount of Yin chakra. The only time that I had any free time other than training was in the evenings with my newfound friends. Takashi Hatake was my best friend as he and I were equally driven to achieve victory. We both absolutely despised failing in anything even if it was a silly game or a bet. There were not many Hatakes left in Konoha but there was definitely a Hatake Sakumo after I subtly questioned Takashi. In my previous life, one of the characters that I liked most was Kakashi and it was a relief to know that his father was still here. With my entry into Konoha, I have no idea how everything will turn out but that was not going to hold me back from living my life.

Still even after months of my hard work things were just going too slow. It was then that I decided to change my diet to complete vegetarian. It was a calculated move as I knew humans were naturally herbivorous creatures. Consuming other animals was not good for human health as the human digestive system has to overwork to digest meat. In the world of Naruto, every creature has its own chakra and if a creature can express certain emotions the chakra behaves with a life of its own. The only living thing that lack emotions are plants and thus eating those plants and vegetables never harms one's body. If meat is eaten the chakra of the animal that is being consumed will inherently fight within the body. Naturally, the body overcomes this battle as the complexity of the human body just assimilate it but a lot of energy is wasted in this process.

All of my efforts and my stubborn persistence to manifest the chains finally pushed through the limit and finally I was able to complete the doorway in my mindscape after ten months. The next step was placing a Yin seal on the door which was easy as I was proficient in that due to Mito sama. As the seal was placed on the door it glowed in brilliant white colour and slowly it set down. I placed my hand on the seal and began to charge it with my chakra and slowly the door began to turn into a golden yellow colour. A chain shot out of the Yin seal and struck right into my body but I didn't feel any pain. Slowly a flood of chains with golden energy began to come out of the seal and began entering my body continuously. This process repeated itself many times until finally, the Yin seal disappeared from the door.

With the process complete I returned back from my meditative trance. I was sitting on the garden of clan compound with Mito sama near me as she was insistent that she was present in case something went awry. I smiled at her curious look and with a thought, I summoned a single Adamantine sealing chain to her amazement.

"You really did it. Hahaha..." She began to laugh so hard that I was worried she might just have a heart attack or something

"Oh, this is priceless. Truly you are so stubborn the world itself changed to accommodate you. When the rest of the clan finds out that you managed to succeed in following Arashi Uzumaki's instructions they will feel like incompetent idiots. In fact, I feel like one right now to have ever thought that it was an impossible task. As Hashirama always say 'the next generation will always surpass the previous ones'." Mito said with a smile

"I see you are in a good mood to be quoting Sensei to young Varuna. You must be in a very good mood Mito sama." Hiruzen said as he entered the garden with Tsunade in tow

"See for yourself." Mito said as she pointed at me and showed them my Adamantine sealing chain

"Huh, I didn't know you could do that." Tsunade said with surprise as she began to take a close look at the chain

"He didn't have it. But he stubbornly trained and trained until he forcibly manifested the chains which was something the Uzumaki clan has deemed impossible. I was just laughing at the thought that someone who has not even become a shinobi has managed to prove my clan wrong." Mito said with laughter

"Hmm. I see.." Hiruzen said as he studied me closely

"The chains are more than some blunt instruments. I guess I will teach you about the sealing techniques and barriers that the Adamantine sealing chains can be used for." Mito said as she exchanged a look with Hiruzen

"This calls for a party. I have to invite a lot of people and cover all the expenses. Bye-bye.." Tsunade exuberantly said as she sped away from the garden before anyone could even say anything

"That girl and her unlimited energy. I think she inherited more of the Uzumaki genes rather than the Senju ones." Mito said with a shake of her head

"Anyone who has seen Hashirama sama will disagree with you Mito sama." Hiruzen said with a smile at his student's antics

"I guess you are correct." Mito readily agreed

"I also came by to give you this." Hiruzen handed over a form to Mito

"The application for the Ninja academy." Mito looked at me and asked "Do you want to join this year Varuna? You can join after a few years if you want it that way." Mito offered

"I will join the Academy this year if its okay with you Mito sama. My friends will also be joining this year so I guess it would be rude not to be with them in the academy." I said with a smile

"Very well then. I will just fill it up and present it to the Academy tomorrow." Mito said as she folded the form and secured it in a storage scroll

"Then it seems my part is finished. Enjoy the day Mito sama, Varuna Kun." with that the Hokage disappeared in a sunshine Jutsu

* * *

I was travelling at the change that had happened in the Senju clan compound over the span of a few hours. It was now filled with people I have never seen in my life. Tsunade had invited all her previous classmates and the clan heads and my own friends as well. I don't know how she managed to organize all this but I was not complaining as this did help me to loosen up a little. Frankly, I think I was too much obsessive over the manifestation of Adamantine sealing chains. Now that I have done it I was at a loss to what to do next.

I was broken out of my thoughts as Takashi captured me in a headlock.

"What do you think you are doing brooding in your own party?" Takashi said as he dragged me to gardens where Asuna Yamanaka and Yumiko Nara were in a fierce game of Shogi

"Oh no I lost again." Asuna moaned as she was summarily defeated by Yumiko

"C'mon Varuna. You can defeat her." Asuna said as she pushed me to sit opposite to Yumiko

"When I win it will be 10-3. You ready to be beaten again." Yumiko asked with fire in her eyes

"Do I have a choice?" I asked rubbing the back of my head

"No." Yumiko said as she reset the pieces and started the game. I was no slouch but Yumiko was an expert in the game and she was very crafty in playing. The few times that I have managed to win was by luck and this time it seemed luck was not on my side and I lost. Then again playing with a Nara really helps to stimulate the brain so even the games were a training exercise for me.

Suddenly there was a commotion inside the building and we all looked to the disturbance. There was a bang and we saw Jiraiya flying over our heads and he bashed himself on the tree. When the dust settled we saw a passed out Jiraiya on the base of the tree.

We turned our heads to look at the direction that he came from and saw a drunk Tsunade with her fists raised storming down to Jiraiya. We watched as she beat the white-haired ninja kicking up dust.

"She is really scary." Takashi said with a shiver joined by Sora, Kanao and Hiro.

"This is so cool." Asuna said as she and Yumiko had stars in their eyes

I let out a sigh and helped Orochimaru to drag away Tsunade from a badly beaten up Jiraiya. After the party died down late into the night I went back to my room tired and was about to go to sleep but the scroll with Yin seal caught my eye. Now that my mastery of Yin chakra was good enough I placed my palm on the seal and channelled Yin chakra into it. With a puff of smoke, another scroll came out of the storage seal. As I opened it my eyes widened in surprise as it was a summoning contract. It was the contract of the Rabbit clan of the Getsu(moon) mountain.

I didn't know there was a Rabbit summons in the Naruto world as I have never seen any of them in the shows. I took out the Katana that was gifted to me by the Uzumaki clan and made a small cut on my thumb. With the blood, I wrote my name on the contract and performed the summoning Jutsu. A small puff of smoke came out as a small rabbit sat on the floor.

"Hi." I said a little uncertainly

"How did I get here? Who are you white-eyes?" the rabbit questioned me as it looked around my room in confusion

"My name is Varuna Uzumaki. You are in my room. Why is your name?" I asked and stumbled back as it jumped in my desk and curiously looked at the summoning contract

"Huh... You are a summoner? But nobody ever told me about you till now? In that case, let me introduce myself. I am the amazing Miku." the rabbit announced as it took on a ridiculous pose with its paws raised in the air

"Being a super cool member of the Rabbit clan you should have so many stories to tell me about your family. Can you share a few of those with me?" I asked nicely fishing for more information

"Hmm.." Miku took a thinking pose and said "I guess I can share some cool stories. But it is going to cost you."

"What do you want?" I asked curiously

"Three carrots will do for now?" Miku said and looked at me meaningfully

I didn't waste any time and immediately ransacked the kitchen and found some carrots. I returned back to my room and handed it over to Miku who began to munch it on with his sharp front tooth. Miku let out a sigh happily after he finished the first carrot and began to narrate the history of the Rabbit clan and informed me about each of its members. In return, I also said about myself when I had the chance. Late into the night, Miku returned to the Mountain of Moon and I went back to my sleep as I certainly had some interesting days ahead of me.

The next day I was overexcited and shared the good news with Mito sama about my new summons. Initially, she was surprised but in the end, under her careful watch, I summoned Miku again. Just like before Miku appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Oh, hey Varuna. How are you doing? Do you have more carrots?" Miku asked eagerly

"I guess I can give you some. Tell me can I speak with other rabbits of your clan." I asked

"Sure you can. Just summon them and speak to them." Miku said with a shrug

"Ah you see I do not have that much Chakra to spend on summoning more powerful rabbits. I am young like you Miku. So can I come and talk to other rabbits in the Moon mountain." I asked hopefully

"I guess I can ask my dad to reverse summon you but you have to give me three carrots." Miku demanded as he looked at me pointedly

"Fine." I mumbled and I brought three carrots to Miku and packed a whole lot of carrots in a sealing scroll that I tucked behind my back.

Miku took the three carrots and disappeared from our view.

"Be careful with how you deal with summons Varuna. Always be respectful and never demand anything from them." Mito sama advised and I nodded. Suddenly I felt a pull in my gut and the next thing I know I was in a different place altogether.

It was then that I realised that I was standing on the ground with huge holes around my position. As I looked at the holes it was far deep like a tunnel. Then a massive shadow covered my position and I slowly turned around and saw a gigantic rabbit in a samurai battle armour.

"Hey, Varuna meet my dad." Miku shouted from the shoulder of the gigantic rabbit

"So you are the brat that summoned my son yesterday. You are rather young for a human. My name is Doku. What is your name child?" Doku asked as he looked at me with an emotionless face

"My name is Varuna Uzumaki. I am honoured to meet you, lord Doku." I greeted the large rabbit with a small bow

"We have been discussing you. I guess I will take you to the rest of our clan and let them decide for themselves." Doku said and he placed his large paw on the ground and silently asked me to climb abroad

"Hold on tight." Doku warned as he placed me on his shoulder near Miku who was jumping up and down for some reason. The very next moment Doku jumped into the tunnel and I screamed at the top of my lungs as I had to hold on to Doku using my chakra.

Meanwhile, Miku was whooping in joy as the tunnel began to twist and turn as it went deep. Finally, after several minutes of rollercoaster ride Doku's feet touched the ground shattering the ground in the process. I fell off from Doku's shoulder into the ground and laid there to regain my bearings.

"So this is our new summoner. How pathetic." I heard a voice mocking me and I stood up even if I was wobbling as I walked to the large rabbits that were gathered in a semicircle before me

"I am not weak. I have never experienced such a mode of transportation before. Now that I know what to expect I can handle it better in the future." I said as I steadied myself

"In the future? Don't be so arrogant to think that you can walk in here again you weak mongrel." the same rabbit roared and moved towards me aggressively which took me off guard and I reacted instinctively by clapping my hands together and shouted,

**"Adamantine sealing chains"**

A number of chains began to exit out of my body and immediately started to bind the giant rabbit. The rabbit tried to fight it off but the chains stayed strong and refused to budge.

"Hahahahaha...Look at that...The brat has some bite after all." another rabbit said but I couldn't see anything because it was completely dark in the cave

Flames began to come alive in various places lighting up the darkroom. As my eyes adjusted I saw a giant red rabbit with three eyes under my chains and four more rabbits staying nearby.

"Release your hold on Ikkaku, Varuna." Doku ordered me from my back and I obliged as I dismissed the chains around Ikkaku and the chains went back into my body. That was a lot more chains than I thought possible but I was certainly not complaining.

"You should not have goaded him like that Ikkaku." Doku scolded the three-eyed rabbit

"Oh don't be a stick in the mud Doku. Because of me, we know the brat is not half bad. I will not have a weak human as my summoner." Ikkaku proclaimed as he folded his hands and looked superior

"You are not the one to decide that Ikkaku. Tendou sama is the one that will decide whether Varuna will remain as our summoner." Doku said as he led me to a cave and on the way, I saw a pond that was glowing eerily with a silver colour

"Don't worry Varuna. I am elder Tendou's favourite student. I can put a good word for you." Miku said ad he hopped on over my head and began to munch on a carrot

"Uh thanks, Miku." I patted the rabbit on his back

We entered the gigantic cave ad I saw a normal-sized rabbit taking a nap.

"Tendou sama this is our new summoner." Doku's voice rumbled waking the old rabbit out of his nap

"Huh, is that you Arashi?" Tendou asked confused as he looked at me

"This is Varuna Kun, honoured elder. He is a descendant of Arashi Uzumaki. The boy seeks to be our summoner." Doku informed the old rabbit

"Oh. Then come closer child. Let me take a good look at you." Tendou said

I moved closer to the silver-coloured rabbit who was squirming his eyes to take a good look at me.

"You have the Byakugan huh. An Uzumaki with Byakugan in my presence. Could it be that time already? Summon your chakra chains and present one to me." Tendou ordered towards the end

I didn't waste any time and summoned one chakra chain and presented it to the old rabbit. I watched curiously as Tendou channelled a blue coloured chakra into my chain. After some time Tendou released my chain and silently observed me.

"Old man, let Varuna be our summoner. We are good friends ya know. He is super nice and even brought a whole lot of carrots for me. He has more of it don't you Varuna?" Miku looked at me and subtly pointed at the scroll on my back

I quickly opened the scroll and activated the storage seal and a large number of carrots appeared on the scroll.

"Look at all the carrots. Woohoo..." Miku let out an excited whoop of joy and jumped into the carrots and began to swim in it

"Heh, I guess there is no trouble in having a summoner. Tell everyone that I approve Varuna Uzumaki as our summoner." Tendou said with a huff as he observed the overexcited Miku jumping around in the mountain of carrots

"I expect you to not slack off and bring shame to the Rabbit clan. Am I clear?" Tendou said sharply as he looked at me

"I understand Tendou sama." I replied with a small bow

"Good. You may leave for now but from tomorrow onwards we will be training you and Miku together. You need to familiarise with our ways and we need to understand you better as well. Also, never share our techniques or our location with anybody no matter what." Tendou ordered

"I understand Tendou sama. I shall take my leave then." I said and after getting a nod for an answer I reverse summoned myself to Konoha and once again appeared before Mito sama.

"So how did it go?" She asked as she looked at my dishevelled appearance

I smiled and gave her a thumbs up to show my success. A smile came to her face at that and she began to ask me for more details.


	4. Enter the academy, exit as a Genin

**KONOHAGAKURE**

The last few weeks were interesting, to say the least. With my acceptance as a summoner of the Rabbit clan, I was obliged to train with Miku in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu. With my training for Adamantine sealing chains over I had some more free time and this was used for training with the Rabbit clan. I was a natural in Kenjutsu but Taijutsu was a whole another matter. The problem mostly stemmed from my Byakugan. When I was not activating the Byakugan I had no problem whatsoever with performing my Taijutsu moves and forms. But whenever I activated my eyes my entire coordination becomes a disaster. As the Byakugan gives the user an in-depth vision that even the Sharingan or Rinnegan cannot emulate my perception of the world changes and my Taijutsu suffers as a result.

For the first few days, I was practising all katas without activating the Byakugan but it was Tendou sama that suggested that I practice with my eyes active. It was then that we discovered the problem and from then on I was made to practice with my eyes active and inactive on alternate days. So far I was able to keep up with the training that the Rabbit clan dished out to me so long as I was not using Byakugan.

I slowly adjusted to the Rabbit style Taijutsu and Kenjutsu under the tutelage of Doku. Still, my chakra was not at a level that I could summon larger Rabbits like Doku or Ikkaku. My chakra was huge compared to others my age but I was certainly not ready to perform large chakra consuming techniques yet. Thankfully my chakra control was good enough after regular practice which made it easier for me to conserve as much chakra as I can.

Finally, after days of waiting the much-awaited day finally arrived. It was my first day of Ninja Academy and I was double-checking everything that I needed for the class. The academy entrance exam was an easy enough thing to ace as it only required a certain knowledge of Konoha history and Fire nation history.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along with you? After all, this is your first day." Mito sama asked for the hundredth time

"It's not necessary Mito sama. I will have to go to the academy alone for the next four years. So one day is not going to make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things." I said as I put my lunch box in my bag and then put my bag over my shoulders

"Kids your age would be shaking on their knees and would be reluctant to go to the Academy. Instead, you are eager to run off to the Academy at any second. You are one weird kid Varuna-kun." Hanako Senju, Tsunade's father said as he watched me curiously

"I still remember the first time we met. You were hanging on to Lord Hashirama and crying like there was no tomorrow. Come to think of it Lord Hashirama was pretty much embarrassed by your antics that day Hanako. At least Varuna-kun is more level headed than you were." Tsuyoshi said as she looked at her red-faced husband who was beyond embarrassed

"I will have you know that I was very level headed for my age." Hanako said as he folded his arm and pouted

"Riiight. Trust me on this Varuna-kun. This oaf was afraid of..." Tsuyoshi didn't get to finish her sentence before Hanako covered her mouth with his hand

"Don't believe anything she says Varuna. You are eager for your class are you not. Get going then." Hanako shouted as he struggled to hold his wife and that turned into a fight between the two and I quickly deserted the area and I could hear screams of Hanako and maniacal laughter from both Mito and Tsuyoshi

* * *

When I neared the academy there was a huge crowd gathered there to see off the first-year students. It was as if the kids brought their entire families for this occasion. I let out a sigh and walked straight to the Academy avoiding the crowd that was slowly gathering there and the chatter of all the kids. There was a reception and I saw a staff sitting behind a desk with a lot of stacked papers.

"Hi, I am Varuna Uzumaki. I am a new student here and I would like to find my class please." I said and the receptionist searched through a bundle of paper and finally handed me one with my name on it

"Take the first corridor to your left and your class will be the third one on the right side."

"Thanks." I said as I walked to the direction that the receptionist pointed. When I reached the class it was empty except for Yumiko Nara who was fast asleep on the far end of the class

I decided that the seat next to her was as good as any and sat next to her and placed my backpack near me. With nothing else to do, I took out a notebook and began to draw a drawing of the human body with all the Tenketsu points. Due to my problems with Byakugan I had decided to form a new Taijutsu style with the help of the Rabbit clan. But they can help me to only an extent and I need to do my part and for that, I need to understand the human body a little bit better.

"Why are you drawing that?" Yumiko asked as she woke up from her slumber

"I can see all Tenketsu points in a body using the Byakugan. I guess I just decided to draw what I saw for future references." I said not that surprised at her question

"Hmm, what a drag." she said as she observed my drawing

"Why were you sleeping? Didn't you get much sleep last night?" I asked her

"All that inane chatter outside the Academy made my head spin. I thought some shut-eye will do some good." Yumiko said with a yawn

"Did it work?" I asked as I continued to draw

"Of course it did. Now all that is left is to survive this boring class." Yumiko complained as she stretched in her seat

"Maybe the class will be interesting." I placated her

"Before the day is over I will be accepting your apologies." Yumiko challenged and then fell silent as our new classmates began to fill in. We greeted some of our friends who began to take seats near us. Asuna and Hiro took the seat that was directly in front of us. Kanao and Takashi were to our left side and Sora was sitting with a Hyuga boy.

As all the students settled into their seats our sensei walked into the class.

"I am Mina Suki. I will be your teacher from now on. So first let's introduce ourselves." Suki sensei said with a smile

One by one my classmates began to introduce themselves and I let out a sigh. This was going to be a long day and I ignored the whispered 'told you' from Yumiko.

* * *

The first few months of the academy was completely theory. It was all about the formation of Konoha and the first great Ninja war from Konoha's perspective. There was also a subject entirely for each Hokage. The accomplishments of each Hokage were rammed into our heads until any kid would see them as gods. The shameless brainwashing aside there were frequent mentions of Will of Fire which was the core belief that the comrades and village were more important than Clan or individuals. I almost felt like I had joined a terrorist camp but my carefully outlandish praising of the First Hokage seems to do the trick as I was the top in class in each and every test. It was not that easy as all I had to do was to think like Hashirama and my answers were given full marks. Seeing as I lived with a person who knew Hashirama Senju intimately helped me a lot to construct my answers.

After five months of ramming all this information dump, the Academy conducted a general test. This was different from the class tests as it was a screening test for training us in Shinobi arts. My usual trick worked like a charm and I aced the test with flying colours. After the results were published many among my class were taken out of the academy and was asked to attend next year. The funny fact was that there were two Hyugas in my class and they didn't like me one bit. Sometimes I felt they were physically restraining themselves from attacking me. Unfortunately for those two, they were rejected from the academy on the basis of lacking the temperament and discipline for being a Shinobi of Konoha. Now that was very funny and there were rumours floating around that the headmaster of the academy had to personally kick out the parents of those two for making a ruckus in the school.

Before Shinobi training started I was called into the headmaster's office. According to Suki sensei, my answers to the questions in the last test was what attracted the headmaster to congratulate me personally. He was an old guy and asked me to never let the will of fire be diminished within me. I played my part and nodded along looking as serious as I can be.

When I returned that day back to my home there was a pleasant surprise waiting for me and that was my mother. In my excitement, I ran straight towards her into her arms and she hugged me tightly.

"Mom, how come you are here?" I asked excitedly

"There is so much to tell you. First, let me take a good look at you." she began to inspect me from head to toe

"Aren't you eating anything? You look more skinny than ever." She asked me with a frown

"He decided to go on a vegetarian diet to speed up the process of manifesting the sealing chains." Tsunade snitched on me

"What? How could you? You turned away from the sacred tradition of the Uzumaki clan by turning your back on a section of ramen. When you eat only ramen with vegetables how will you ever grow up to be a powerful shinobi?" She asked with a bewildered look confusing everyone

"I have never seen him eat any ramen before." Tsunade mused and that was the end of my life as my mother looked far beyond enraged

"That's it. I am going to save you from yourself Varuna. From now on all you are allowed to eat is ramen. Miso ramen, Shio ramen, Shoyu ramen, Tonkotsu ramen and many other types of ramen will be the only food that you will know from now on. This I swear on the blood of Uzumaki clan." with that said she took hold of my hand and ran away from the others leaving a very confused crowd.

Sometime later I was in a restaurant with my mother who had four bowls of Tonkotsu ramen finished and was in the process of finishing the fifth bowl. I was forced to take a second bowl because my mother glared at me very hard.

"I am happy that you are here. Did you join the Ninja corps again? Are you here on a mission?" I asked curiously

"Nope. After you left I had a huge fight with Nidaime sama. He was very dismissive with me in the beginning but I began to show up at his door almost regularly. Last week Nidaime sama handed over his position to Sadaime sama and he arranged for my transfer to Konoha with some help from the Fire Daimyo." She said with a large smile

"So you will not be going back to Uzu?" I asked hopefully as that ensured she will not be harmed if the invasion happens

"Mm-hm. I am going to stay here with you." She said with a happy smile

"So who is the new Sadaime Uzukage? Is it someone that I know?" I asked curiously

"Do you remember that guy that gave you your sword?" She asked me and I racked my brain for a face

"Oh, that guy. I remember him. His name was Soryu Uzumaki, isn't it? I asked

"Yep. He is the new Sadaime. I think he allowed me to go because he didn't want to deal with me daily for the rest of his days as Uzukage. Anyway, so here I am." She said with obvious glee

"So what will you do in Konoha? Are you going to join the Shinobi squads?" I asked eagerly

"Sarutobi sama offered me a place but I decided to instead take a role in a research team that is being gathered under the supervision of the Hokage." She whispered to me

"What kind of a research team?" I asked back

"The secret kind. It will be treason to speak about it. Now, I hear that you have activated the Sealing chains. Is this true?" She changed the subject but I obliged nonetheless

"Yes, it is true." I answered with a smile

"I knew you were smart for your age but you really surprised me and the clan with your stunt. I am proud of you." She looked at me with pride and a smile grew on my face at the praise

"Thanks, mother." I replied

"Now to celebrate this achievement we will have two more bowls of Shio ramen." She said out loud and magically it appeared as the restaurant owner looked at my mother with stars in his eyes.

It took many more bowls of ramen for my mother to be satisfied and the restaurant owner was thanking us profusely. Apparently, the guy has been having fewer customers than usual and was going through some hard times. This was true for most of the village. After the first shinobi war, the economy of many villages was in shambles. The Leaf had it mild compared to other four great shinobi villages but it did not escape completely unscathed. Too many ninjas have lost their lives and the village was hard-pressed to address this shortage of capable shinobi by accelerating the training program as the economy was slowing down.

* * *

The next few months were interesting, to say the least. The academy started to train our class in physical exercises so as to build our body strength and stamina. It was also the time for kunai and shuriken training which I had neglected a little since coming to Konoha. But now that it was done in the Academy I didn't have to find extra time for that training.

Now that I had activated the Adamantine sealing chains Mito sama had me training for creating sealing barriers. The chains were excellent conduits for creating powerful barriers and with the lack of Wood release the Sealing chains were the next best thing to suppress a tailed beast. The only problem that I faced right now was my lack of chakra to maintain the barriers for a long time. That would not matter much as I grow older.

The Academy instructors suggested that I should skip to third-year class after they tested me thoroughly. But I was adamant in staying in the academy for four years as it gave me time for more personal growth. There was one more reason for my refusal as the Uzumaki clan would stop funding me once I become a shinobi of Konoha. After that, every expense of the clan that I was starting in Konoha will come out of me and my mother's purse. So it would be stupid of me to finish the Academy early and deny the resources of Uzumaki clan.

When I finished the first year of the academy the construction of my new home was complete. With that done me and my mother moved into the house which was behind the Yamanaka clan compound. That doesn't mean that I was staying at our clan compound full time. Most of the time my mother was busy with whatever she was doing in the newly formed research team. So I spent a good amount of my time with Mito-sama which was also a relief for her as Tsunade and her parents were mostly away on missions.

The second year of the academy started. This year Taijutsu training was amped up and every student was made to fight each other once in a while. Small sets of weights were added to our physical training and there was a special healing chamber dedicated to easing the stress that was building up in our body muscles after each session. Chakra controlling exercises were also taught especially the leaf sticking exercise.

This year would have been boring for me if it was not for Takashi. There was no doubt in my mind that Takashi was a genius of the highest calibre. Our rivalry in the Ninja arts made pushed us to improve leaps and bounds ahead of our peers. That doesn't mean that we were locking heads every day. In fact, it was the other way around. Takashi was my best friend and we pushed each other to our limits. He was also offered to advance a year because of his quick grasp of Ninja arts but he stayed behind with the rest of our friends.

The third-year was more interesting as the Academy provided training for special weapons like Fan, Swords, Gunabi etc. I selected Kenjutsu training as it was something that I was good at and it proved to be useful as I got to train with others my age. This was also the year that we were learning about some Jutsu like Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu and even some Katon Jutsu. Fire nature was the most common nature affinity that could be found in Konoha and that was taught in the Academy. It was not compulsory to master Fire transformation but I was able to perform Fire Jutsu somewhat proficiently as it was my secondary element. Wind was my primary element and I had mastered all the training exercises for wind manipulation but have yet to start any training in Wind Jutsu.

The fourth-year was a combination of the last three years along with some field training in formations, battle strategies and traps. We were required to memorise different clans and their abilities in the elemental nations as well as the different terrains. In the end, when the final results came in Takashi and I was in a tie for the first spot and Asuna came out as the top Kunoichi of our year. Then came the time for dividing us into teams.

Suki sensei addressed us on the final day and advice us to be brave and patriotic. There were several mentions of the will of fire again which was frankly a little disturbing for me even after listening to four years of this same drivel. Finally, she concluded her speech and came to the main event.

"Team 1 will comprise of Uchiha Izumi, Shiro Inuzuka and Nagumo Wibawa under Soren Akagi."

Team 1 was escorted out by their sensei out of the classroom.

"Team 2 will comprise of Yumiko Nara, Varuna Uzumaki and Kanao Akimichi under Tsunade Senju."

I was more surprised than anyone else as Tsunade had never told me that she was going to take on a team this year. I knew she was Jonin but I never imagined that she would take a team this early. Then again looking at the triumphant look on her face she must have badgered Sadaime sama to be my Jonin sensei. Then again I have a feeling why she was after this team specifically.

Well, there is no point in delaying the inevitable and I walked out of the classroom with my two other friends. Tsunade had a smirk as she led us away from the academy.

"Uh, sensei. Where are we going?" Kanao asked confused as Tsunade was leading us far away from the academy

That made Tsunade stop and turned towards us.

"You three must run to the top of the Hokage mountain. Meet me there fast. I will only wait for you for five minutes. If you are not able to reach the top within the allotted time this team will be dismissed." Tsunade looked at us cruelly

"What? You can't do that. We are shinobi of Konoha. We even got the forehead protector." Kanao shouted indignantly as he pointed at the leaf symbol

"That dosen't mean you will be in my team. If you fail my test you will either go back to the Academy or put in reserve forces where you will stay a Genin forever." Tsunade's smile turned feral and she vanished in a puff of smoke

Kanao was the first to react and made to run for the pass that leads to the top of the mountain.

"No, wait Kanao." I said but I shouldn't have bothered as he became immobilised quickly

**"Shadow possession Jutsu." **

I saw a thin line of shadow grow out from Yumiko's feet and immobilized Kanao quickly.

"What are you doing Yumiko? I have to get to the top quickly." Kanao strained

"Please think Kanao. There is no way anyone can climb this mountain by running through that pass in five minutes. The only way we can finish this in time is by climbing this straight up." I said as I pointed up as we all looked up at the faces of all three Hokage.

"But how is that not difficult? It will take more time and it is dangerous." Kanao shouted as he looked at me like I had grown another head

"I can walk on a vertical surface by channelling my chakra through my feet..." I showed them as I walked on the slope perfectly fine and jumped back down

"Unfortunately we don't have the time to learn something like that." Yumiko pointed out

"Yes but I can summon my sealing chains and push them into the rocks. It will hold firm and you two can climb to the top. I can just run straight up using my chakra. How does that sound?" I shared my plan with my teammates

"That will work." Yumiko said after she thought about it

"Alright. Lets do this." Kanao looked fired up and I unleashed two of my sealing chains straight up and it struck into the rocks just below the head of Senju Tobirama.

"Lets go." I said

Yumiko and Kanao began to climb as fast as they could and I slowly walked up with them careful to let the chains be steady for them to climb. After we reached the end of the chains Yumiko and Kanao held on to the mountain while I once again pushed the chains up and they began climbing again.

* * *

Tsunade waited patiently at the top of the mountain for her students. Now that was a very strange thought as she never imagined herself taking any students. Besides she was curious how those three will climb the hokage mountain within the time limit she set for them. Even if they failed she had another test ready to use against them. The same one that Sarutobi sensei used against her and her two teammates. There was no way in hell that she was going to fail this team. Varuna had too many uses for her to just fail them besides she was sure that they will succeed in the task.

Just as that thought crossed her mind two chains plunged into the ground before her. Soon she saw her new students climb up and promptly collapsed on the ground out of breath.

"Well it seems you guys made it just in time." Tsunade said with a small smile

"You...are not...getting away...with this. Just you wait..." Varuna panted as he struggled to stand due to exhaustion

"Well...well...well. Threatening your new sensei is a bad move Varuna-kun." Tsunade said with a smirk but she went by their side and began to heal them with medical ninjutsu

"I was worried for a minute but you three can work together well." Tsunade said as she healed them

"Work together?" Kanao asked confusedly

"Yes. We, leaf ninja, are not like other villages. It is our exceptional teamwork that makes our shinobi a class of our own. Its true our individual skills matter but when people work together more can be achieved for good or bad. If you had decided to climb this mountain on your own all of you would not have reached here on time. In the future, you may face opponents that you can't overcome by your individual powers. But a team that balances out all around will be able to take down even the most powerful ninjas." Tsunade advised and by that time she finished healing us

"So did we pass?" Kanao asked

"You guys pass and from tomorrow onwards we will be training and taking some missions." Tsunade said with a smile and thumbs up

"Yay." Kanao celebrated with a yell and gathered his two other teammates into a group hug

"Well, see you all tomorrow morning at sharp eight." with that said Tsunade vanished with a body flicker jutsu

* * *

I walked back home alone as my other two teammates returned to their homes. On the way, I bumped into Asuna who was on the way to the Yamanaka clan.

"Varuna, I see you have returned from your team meeting. How did it go?" Asuna asked curiously

"She made us climb the Hokage mountain within five minutes and then she accepted us as her students. What about you Asuna?" I asked

"We were asked to be prepared to face a challenge tomorrow. Maybe its the same thing." Asuna mused

"I don't know about that. Hey, who are your other members of the team?" I asked

"Ahh, you didn't get to see the other teams. Well, my team includes Takashi and Sora. Our sensei is Kagame Uchiha." Asuna said

"Oh, that's cool. What about Hiro?" I asked

"Bug boy is with Toshiro Akagi and Date Masamune with Oda Hideyoshi as their sensei." Asuna said as we neared the Yamanaka clan grounds and we stopped walking

"I guess thats not bad. Well, I should be going then. Goodbye Asuna." I said as we went our separate ways

A few more minutes of walking and I was near my house. To my surprise the door was already opened and I saw my mother inside sitting on the floor with a lot of papers scattered around her.

"Mom, you are home early. Didn't you have work today?" I asked as I fell into the couch

"I took a half day leave. I had to celebrate you becoming a Genin." she explained as she faced me

"What if I would have failed?" I asked absently as I looked at the strangely familiar drawings in the papers below

"I know you would pass easily. You are my son, after all." she said with a small smile

"Mom, you aren't by any chance trying to construct a device for magnification are you?" I asked as I looked at all the designs that she had drawn

"You have good eyes. It is something I have been working on to support the research." she said as she began to arrange all the papers back into neat stacks

"Why are you designing it?" I asked curiously as from what I saw she was designing a microscope

"Lets just say that it is to observe the cells in our body. I have been meaning to ask, can you describe the feeling when you activate your eyes and how the vision of Byakugan actually works?" she asked as she looked at me curiously

"Nobody is sure how a dojutsu actually works but I know all dojutsu utilizes Yin chakra for all its special abilities while the Yang chakra to strengthen the eyes itself." I said as that was my prevailing theory because all the Dojutsus were serious hoax powers that can run circles around one's mind if you seriously think about its working

"So what you are saying is that I need Yin chakra to create a similar effect should I apply a seal instead of a dojutsu." my mother asked as she looked into her papers thoughtfully

"No. I am saying you need Yin chakra to create a special light source that can be adjusted to reflect back into a special surface the image that you desire. I don't really know as I am out of my depths in this matter. However, I think there is a more normal way to achieve the magnifying effect you seek." I said

"How?" She asked and I began explaining the working behind a Stereo Microscope and later into the night we celebrated my beginning of ninja life by obviously eating a ton load of Ramen with Mito sama and Tsunade as our guests.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I had planned for breaking this chapter into three but many of you guys were asking me to skip the academy years so that's what's happened. Now that the SI is out of the academy the fun is about to start.**

**Thank you for all of your reviews and there were a quite few that was recommending the survival of Uzumaki clan. I have nothing against that path but if the Uzumaki survive and somehow come to Konoha isn't there a greater chance that Kumo, Iwa and Kiri converge on Konoha. The Senju and Uzumaki clan were systematically destroyed by the other villages to prevent someone like Hashirama being ever born again.**

**Then again the Second shinobi war was all about destroying the smaller nations like Ame, Taki, Uzu etc. Only after that the great five started the real party. Uzu was the first target but I don't know why? If anyone knows please tell me.**


	5. Trouble with my chakra

**KONOHAGAKURE **

Yumiko, Kanao and I made ourselves comfortable as we arrived at the top of Hokage mountain. Predictably there was no sign of Tsunade anywhere near the place and I couldn't see her anywhere nearby as I scanned the area with Byakugan.

"Any sign of sensei, Varuna?" Kanao asked as he munched on a few potato chips

"Nope. I guess she is as lazy as she used to be." I said as I plucked a chip from Kanao's hand and began munching on it

"Hey, Varuna. Can you teach us how to walk on trees with just chakra alone?" Kanao asked and Yumiko looked interested as well

"Hmm, I will explain the theory behind it and you guys can practice it now if you want." I said and after both of my friends nodded I began explaining the working behind tree walking exercise

After a few minutes of my explanation, Yumiko and Kanao began to try out the tree walking exercise. Meanwhile, I took out a rubber ball and began to move chakra inside the rubber ball to burst it. It was a work in progress but I already mastered the first stage of the Rasengan training which was 'Rotation'. I had completed this part while I was in the Academy but the next step was proving to be a little pain in the neck. Considering that I don't know the Shadow Clone Jutsu it was a miracle that I had managed to get this far. Besides, most of my time last year was spent on my sealing training and Katon Jutsu.

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind which startled me and I jumped back on instinct only to let out a relieved sigh as I saw the face of Tsunade

"Oh, it was you." I said as I picked up the rubber ball that fell off from my hand

"You didn't answer me." Tsunade huffed as she looked at me meaningfully

"I am training to shape and condense my chakra in a specific form for a new Jutsu." I answered

"A new Jutsu huh. Then let me see what you have been working on." Tsunade said as she looked at me curiously

"Alright. I am thinking about a Jutsu that can be shaped in the form of a spinning ball that can grind anything it touches into dust. So the Jutsu needs rotation, power and shape. I practised rotation by spinning water in a water balloon with my chakra alone and now I am trying to compress enough power to destroy this rubber ball to destroy it using my chakra." I explained to Tsunade

"Hmm, then what you need is more fineness with your chakra control. Do you know the water walking exercise?" Tsunade asked

"I know."

"Then show me." Tsunade said

"There is no water here." I shrugged

"Earth Style: Doryuu Jouheki."

"Water Style: Waterfall Basin Technique."

With two consecutive Jutsu Tsunade made a modest waterfall right on top of the mountain attracting the attention of Yumiko and Kanao.

"Now show me if you can walk on water or not." Tsunade challenged

I jumped on the surface of the water and just before my feet touched the surface I began to expel chakra from my feet and I stood on the surface of water and walked across it one or two times.

"You satisfied." I asked snidely

"Then that means you need more refinement techniques and more physical chakra to complete the Jutsu." Tsunade said as she observed me with a critical eye

"What do you mean by that?" I asked somewhat confused

"You have more Yin chakra than you have Yang chakra. Naturally, as an Uzumaki, it should have been the other way around. But because of your Byakugan and your training for Adamantine sealing chains, the balance inside you has shifted rapidly. That's why you are lacking the power you need to crack the rubber ball with your chakra. You need to build up your physical chakra and that's why I bought you these…" Tsunade said as she dropped a set of weights into the ground

"Oh no…" I moaned as I saw two pair of weights with a sealing tag on it

"Tie these around your legs and arms. The seal can be adjusted to regulate the weight that you would feel. After that run through all the streets of Konoha and meet me here. Meanwhile, I will be training these two to help them control their chakra." Tsunade said as she turned towards Yumiko and Kanao leaving me with the weights she gifted

I looked down at the weights and sighed. I put them on and walked some distance and I didn't feel much of any resistance. I adjusted the seal so that more weight could be felt and when I walked I started to feel resistance. With that done I started to run straight to the main gate of Konoha.

After several laps, I collapsed on top of the mountain and I was pleasantly surprised to see my other teammates had made some progress in their training. Yumiko had managed to reach the top of the tree several times but Kanao was still having some trouble but he was almost there.

"Well, now that we are all here we can go for our first mission." Tsunade said after she healed us and restored our chakra levels. Kanao looked intrigued the moment he heard the word 'mission'.

"Now don't get too much excited as we will be doing mostly D rank missions. Until I am sure that you three can work together and improve in your individual skills we will be doing D rank missions. Am I clear." Tsunade said

"Yes sensei." We chorused

"Good. Now let's go." with that said she began to lead us to the Hokage tower

From the mission desk, Tsunade selected a D rank mission. It was a mission to deliver certain large quantities of wood to a restaurant from the forest of death. With the mission scroll secure in Tsunade's hand we began to run straight to the forest of death.

"Varuna, do you have enough sealing scrolls with you?" Yumiko asked as we ran for the forest

"Yes." I answered positive

"Then we can just seal the wood in your scroll and then deliver them to the restaurant, right." Yumiko mused

"That's a good idea." Kanao chipped in and I nodded along. Just as Yumiko suggested the moment we reached the site we sealed all the wood in my sealing scrolls and we made a beeline for the restaurant and delivered the wood.

"Well, that was fast. I guess we can do one more mission and after that back to training." Tsunade said as she led us for the mission desk once again

After completing the second mission which was a delivery of medicinal herbs to a local clinic Tsunade led us to training ground two which had a sizeable pond covered with thick trees and a modest clearing.

"Yumiko and Kanao will continue with their tree walking exercise while you will be doing another chakra control exercise." Tsunade said as she looked at me

"Alright. What is it that I should do?" I asked curiously

"You know both the leaf concentration exercise and tree walking exercise right?" She asked and I nodded in agreement

"Good. I want you to do the tree climbing exercise while simultaneously you will be doing the leaf concentration exercise. If you manage to complete this exercise with one leaf increase the numbers of leaves and continue until I say to stop." Tsunade said as she pointed at a tree adjacent to where Yumiko and Kanao were training

I plucked a leaf from the ground and put it on my forehead and let my chakra cling on to it. I walked straight towards the tree and began climbing the tree with my feet alone. After I reached the top I backflipped and landed on my feet.

"Add one more leaf and this time stick it to your cheek." Tsunade advised

I obeyed her and once again I managed to complete the exercise.

"Add more leaves to your arms and legs. If you are still able to complete the exercise then stick the leaves to your body using corners only." Tsunade motioned me to go on and I continued adding more leaves. But it was when I tried to stick the leaves on their corners that I failed. I tried many more times but I couldn't hold the leaves securely enough. Meanwhile, both Yumiko and Kanao had managed to master the tree walking exercise. By that time it was afternoon and Tsunade let us be to take a lunch break.

The three of us had brought lunch with us and we had our food under the shade of a tree. After that, we waited for some time but Tsunade was nowhere to be seen. Slowly we dozed off from all the exhaustion.

I was jolted out of my sleep when a huge amount of water was dumped on me. My two other friends were also in the same boat as me as I watched them trying to shake off the water while sending death glares to Tsunade who was enjoying our predicament.

"No sleeping during training time." Tsunade smirked at us as she shook in laughter at our predicament. "I am going to test your abilities. So use any techniques that you can and defend yourself." She said as she ran straight towards us with her fist raised

The three of us jumped back and just in time too as the spot we were standing on became crushed under the punch of Tsunade.

Yumiko and Kanao both backflipped away to create some distance while I started doing hand seals quickly

**"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."**

A wave of fire was expelled from my mouth and quickly engulfed Tsunade's position. I knew it didn't catch her so on instinct I jumped away from my spot just as two hands came from the ground to catch me. The moment Tsunade came out of the ground Kanao began throwing shuriken at Tsunade which she dodged but that led her right into Yumiko's trap.

"**Shadow possession jutsu complete"**

A thin line of shadow extended from Yumiko and bound Tsunade. I quickly threw a kunai at her and she crumbled down into small rocks.

"It's an earth clone." I shouted and Tsunade jumped out of the ground right behind us and was about to punch Kanao but I quickly intervened by summoning my chakra chains around us to create a barrier. The barrier held strong despite a small ripple that went through it when Tsunade's punch connected. The three of us jumped backwards as we let out a collective sigh of relief.

"That was quick thinking Varuna. I admit you have good reflexes and Yumiko has good timing. Kanao, I thought you were a good Taijutsu expert but I have yet to see any of it." Tsunade said and goaded Kanao

"I will face her in Taijutsu and you guys try to trap her." Kanao said in a rush and ran straight for Tsunade. Predictably Kanao couldn't land any hits on Tsunade but he was successful in distracting her.

I used this time to summon the sealing chains through my feet and let it travel beneath the ground. My ploy worked as the chain quickly wrapped around Tsunade's left leg. One of the punches of Kanao connected on Tsunade's cheek and Yumiko quickly used her Shadow possession jutsu again. But before Yumiko could immobilise Tsunade she quickly punched the ground and a tremor passed through the ground that we were standing. Yumiko lost her concentration on her jutsu and she was about to hit her head on a rock so I quickly dismissed the chain and tackled Yumiko away from the rock. As we fell into the ground we saw Kanao flying away from Tsunade's punch but this left her wide open and I quickly used that opportunity to flash through several hand seals.

**"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu."**

A volley of small fireballs began to rain down on Tsunade as she tried to dodge them and eventually she used a Water jutsu to cancel out the flames. But that didn't save her from the shuriken that I had hidden in the fire and one struck right on her shoulder catching her by surprise. That was the exact moment Yumiko managed to catch Tsunade in her Shadow Possession Jutsu. But Yumiko couldn't hold it longer and fell down due to chakra exhaustion. Kanao and I tried to engage Tsunade in taijutsu but we were quickly overwhelmed by her strength and at last we admitted defeat.

"You three came close to victory for a moment. Now that I know what to expect I think we can work out a structure for our training. From now on early mornings will be dedicated to chakra control exercises. After that, we will be doing missions in the village. Then in the evenings, we will have sparring sessions like this. After you three are at a level that I am comfortable with we will start with ninjutsu training. Is this ok with you three?" Tsunade asked us

"We agree sensei." All three of us answered

"Good. You kids can take some rest now. We will continue training tomorrow." With that said Tsunade left us in the training ground. We sat there for some time to catch our breath.

"Sensei is cool. Did you see how she shattered the ground with a single punch." Yumiko gushed with stars in her eyes

"I didn't see anything. All I know was that there was a bang and the next thing I know, I was lying far back from where I was standing." Kanao said as he sighed in disappointment

"Hey, don't be let down Kanao. We were fighting against a Jonin who has been trained by the Third Hokage. It was a miracle that we even managed to push her this far. If we can do this just after we graduated from the academy imagine what we will be able to do once we have more training done." I encouraged him

"He is right Kanao. We will defeat her one day." Yumiko also provided her support and we both helped Kanao stand

"If you guys are confident then I am too. So let's make it our promise. We will defeat sensei together." Kanao said enthusiastically as he pumped his palm up

"Hai." both of us joined him in his declaration and it was a promise that we intend to keep

**XXXX**

"Tsunade, I was wondering when you were going to come." Hiruzen said as he silently reprimanded his student for being late with an admonishing stare

"Did I miss anything?" Tsunade asked as she stood before her sensei with some of the other Jonin teachers of other teams

"We were discussing the performance of each team and I was about to dismiss the others. But now that you are here you may speak up Tsunade." Hiruzen said as he looked at his student with a curious eye

"I tested them yesterday itself and they passed my test." Tsunade said with a shrug

"You didn't even give them time to think about the test huh." Kagami Uchiha murmured as he cast a sidelong glance at Tsunade

"I knew those three could work together well if they got time to prepare so I wanted to just see whether they would work along under pressure which they did." Tsunade answered the older Jonin and the Uchiha responded with a nod

"Anything else you want to report Tsunade. We all know why you insisted on this team." Hiruzen looked at her pointedly

"It's true I wanted Varuna in my team for his Byakugan. You all are underestimating just how valuable a skilled medic ninja with a Byakugan can achieve. He can save countless lives." Tsunade argued at her sensei's accusing stare

"While what you say is true you must also realise the potential of Varuna in combat missions as well Tsunade. It is the first time the Hyuga and Uzumaki bloodline merged into one person. I am not asking you not to teach him medical ninjutsu but bear it in mind that he can be a very important asset in the frontline. His sealing jutsu is already a thing to be feared. Mito sama has been keeping me informed about his progress. What I am asking you is not to impose anything on him." Hiruzen looked at her meaningfully

"I won't." Tsunade agreed

"Good. Now, what about Yumiko Nara and Kanao Akimichi?" Hiruzen asked as he laced his fingers together

"Yumiko is the level headed one and seems to be driven to improve. She is proficient in her clan jutsu and seems to have good control over her chakra. Kanao is good with Taijutsu but he is too quick in his judgement. His teammates keep him grounded somewhat. After a little more chakra control I think I can start training them in some ninjutsu. Their teamwork is excellent and it was beyond what I was expecting." Tsunade reported

"That's good to hear. If there is nothing else you are all dismissed. Tsunade, you may stay." Hiruzen dismissed the gathered Jonin and turned to his student once again.

"What is it sensei?" Tsunade asked curiously

"I have approved the project that we talked about several years back." Hiruzen informed his student a little uneasily

"You have started to experiment with grandfather's cells?" Tsunade asked incredulously

"It is in the first stage only Tsunade. The extraction of the cells has met with success and careful research and studies are being conducted as we speak. It is far from being complete but I wanted to let you in on the progress." Hiruzen said placated his student as he knew this was a sensitive issue for her.

"But I thought you were of the opinion that the Wood release was no longer needed after you learned that Varuna had activated the chakra chains." Tsunade looked at her sensei inquiringly

"It's true that Varuna activating the chakra chains is a cause of relief but the fact is that we cannot always depend on him. You know as well as I do the chances of another Uzumaki activating the chains is up for luck. In the future, if we lack an Uzumaki with their special chakra then the Wood release becomes important to suppress the nine-tailed fox. It is for this reason that I have given the go-ahead for the research." Hiruzen explained as he stood up from his chair to look out of the window to watch the stone face of the First Hokage.

"You know very well that I don't like to do this but the safety of the village must come first. Other villages have been targeting the Senju clan members to prevent the rise of another Mokuton user. Besides I have reports coming in from our spies that other villages have their own Jinchuriki and they are being trained to control their powers. If they are employed in the field Konoha will be at a disadvantage as we will not be able to respond in kind." Hiruzen let out a defeated sigh as he looked at his student

"But if you transfer the Kyuubi to Varuna then he can be trained to control the beast's chakra, right?" Tsunade proposed as she realised her grandmother had never used the chakra of the beast sealed inside her for anything

"There are many problems with what you are suggesting Tsunade. The first problem is that once we extract the Kyuubi Mito sama will die from the resultant strain that we will put on her. The second problem is that Varuna is not a full-blooded Uzumaki and I don't know whether he will be able to seal the most powerful tailed beast inside himself and not lose control. If he was much younger this would not have been a problem. As a baby with no developed chakra coils, the sealing would have gone smoothly even if Varuna is not a full-blooded Uzumaki." Hiruzen let out a tired sigh and fell back into his chair behind the desk

"Sometimes I wonder why Hashirama sensei even bothered to deliver the tailed beasts as a peace offering. At that time it may have diffused the war but shortly after war was declared anyway and now this…" Hiruzen lamented at the direction the elemental nations are moving

"I understand why you want to bring back the Mokuton sensei. But aren't you forgetting that the Sharingan can also control the tailed beasts? After all my grandfather had to break the control Madara had over the nine-tailed fox." Tsunade reminded him as she quirked an eyebrow

"Again it is not so simple. I have spoken to Kagami and from what he knew Madara had an advanced form of Sharingan called the Mangekyo Sharingan. After Madara's betrayal, the clan is suppressing the details of the eyes as much as they could. In his opinion the eyes were a curse the Uchiha should live without and I trust his judgement. So we are back to square one." Hiruzen said as he took his pipe and began to smoke

"I guess there is no other way than to continue the experiments. If you manage to implant the ability into someone will you inform me." Tsunade requested as it would be a legacy of her grandfather and she didn't want some nobody to have such an ability

"Of course. We are nowhere near such a stage and we don't know if it is possible but I will immediately notify you Tsunade." Hiruzen promised her

"Sensei there is one thing I wanted to ask of you." Tsunade said as she looked at her sensei a little uneasily

"Well, this is a first. You are asking me for permission to do something. This must be really serious if you are this polite. Do go on." Hiruzen chuckled lightly at the indignant look that crossed his student's face

"I just want your permission to teach Varuna the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Tsunade blurted out with a straight face startling Hiruzen

"Are you insane? That jutsu is a forbidden technique for a reason Tsunade. It can cause terrible damage to the psyche of the user if one doesn't have the necessary mental conditioning and Chakra reserves. It can even lead to death and you want to teach it to Varuna! The answer is no." Hiruzen said firmly

"Just hear me out sensei. Varuna has an imbalance in his chakra. He has more Yin chakra than Yang chakra in his body but interestingly I found something else as well. The Yin chakra in Varuna is behaving very strangely." Tsunade said as she looked completely serious

"What do you mean by 'strangely'?" Hiruzen asked as he sat up in interest as the scholar in him became alert

"His Yin chakra is starting to behave like Yang chakra. That is the best explanation that I can come up with right now. I was observing him when he was training for a jutsu and his chakra had the feel of Yin chakra. So I just wanted to test whether this is true and whether this is harmful for him by letting him use the Shadow clone jutsu. As a copy of his chakra, the clone can be studied more closely and give me an idea of whether this is bad for him." Tsunade said with a troubled look and waited for her sensei to speak

"Alright, I give you permission to teach the jutsu but you must inform me before you are going to diagnose him." Hiruzen said as he looked at his student sternly.

"Yes sensei." Tsunade agreed and she stood up from her seat

"Have you spoken to Mito sama about this condition of Varuna? I remember Mito sama telling me about a training Varuna-kun had to undergo to activate the sealing chains. Perhaps it is connected to what is happening to him." Hiruzen suggested as he pondered the situation

"You are the first person I have told this sensei. But I will ask grandmother about this matter. Perhaps she knows more about this in detail. I will be in touch, sensei." Tsunade left with a nod

Hiruzen sat back in his chair and looked troubled. There was more than enough problems for him to worry about and now another had joined the pile. Many of his advisors had pressured him to make Varuna the Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox when the moment the boy became an Academy student. It was his decision to let Mito Uzumaki continue being the Jinchuriki. Many were against his decision but he persisted as he didn't want to push his sensei's wife to certain death. Still, it was a very risky move on his part as the fate of the village was at stake. It was imperative to find a host for the nine-tailed fox quickly before something happened to Mito sama, Hiruzen thought with a sigh.

**XXXXX**

I laid down on my bed after having dinner. Mother had yet to arrive and it was becoming late into the night but there has been something that was bothering me. Last day Tsunade said that I had more Yin chakra than Yang chakra. But when I checked right now I felt perfectly balanced. In fact, I had taken precautions to not let something like that happen by doing physical exercises throughout my academy years. Yet, Tsunade was sure that there is an imbalance in my chakra and the most frightening thing was that I couldn't feel it. Either she made a mistake or I have a serious problem.

I gritted my teeth and stood up from my bed. I took the rubber ball from my table and concentrated my chakra. I began pulling more and more power into the ball and finally it broke apart.

"Ha, I did it." I jumped up and down in joy as I completed the second step for the Rasengan. Suddenly I felt a little sleepy and I decided to deal with everything tomorrow.

The next day I woke up early as usual. My mother was sleeping like a baby in her bed. I decided to do some exercise and after that, I freshened up and then decided to make some breakfast. With the entire kitchen stuffed with ingredients for making ramen, I decided that was best for today. Besides living with my mom again had made me a ramen addict. After a bowl of ramen was prepared I was enjoying my breakfast peacefully when I heard knocking on the door. When I opened the door I found myself face to face with Tsunade, Mito sama and the Third Hokage.

"Uh, please come in." I awkwardly led them in and led them to a couch in the living room

"How are you Varuna?" Hiruzen asked with a gentle smile

"I am fine. What is this all about? Is there any problem?" I asked in confusion

"We will get to that in a minute. Where is Kasumi?" Mito sama asked

"Mom was late last night. She is still sleeping. Do you want me to wake her?" I asked

"Please do so Varuna-Kun." Mito sama said with a small smile and I returned that smile uncertainly. But I didn't have to go far as my mother was already awake and was already there when I turned around.

"Oh, this is a surprise." Kasumi said as she looked at our three guests

"Kasumi there is something that I must tell you. It's about Varuna's chakra. Tsunade sensed a dynamic shift in his chakra and looking at him right now I can see that her fears were not unfounded. We would like to take a closer look if you don't mind." Mito sama explained which startled me

"I don't understand. What is wrong with my son?" my mother put her hand on my shoulder

"The Yin chakra in his body is behaving very strangely. I just need to confirm my theory." Tsunade said to my mom

"What do you need to do?" my mom asked her and Tsunade turned to me

"I am going to give you a jutsu and I want you to carefully study the hand seals for it and try it out. Don't worry if you can't do it right away but I want you to give it your best shot." Tsunade said and with a nod from me, she took a scroll which was handed over to her by the Third Hokage and showed it to me. The moment I laid my eyes on it I knew this was the forbidden scroll that kept all the forbidden techniques of the Leaf village.

I began to read about the most hax jutsu that could be found in the Naruto world which was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. There was no long chain of hand seals required for this jutsu. The tiger or horse seal would do for the hand seal but there was more than that. There were several techniques and specific moulding for controlling the amount of chakra to be split and different other technicalities as well as principles for mastering the technique.

After I had a decent grasp of the technique I made the horse seal and channelled my chakra into my hands and carefully released a specific amount through my tenketsu points. With the classic popping sound and smoke, an exact copy of me was standing next to me.

"You succeeded it in your first try. You have keen insight into the inherent nature of chakra that I have only seen with more experienced shinobi." Hiruzen complimented but I looked at him confused as Mito sama and Tsunade began inspecting the clone

"It is as I feared sensei. His body is being dominated by Yin chakra." Tsunade said as she turned to Hiruzen with a grave expression

"Tsunade is right. His Yin chakra is intermingling with his Yang chakra and slowly taking over. I have never heard about such a phenomenon. It is as if his Yin chakra is behaving like a parasite." Mito sama said with a worried look

"Then what can we do? It can be fixed, right." My mother asked with a hint of fear as she realised the gravity of the situation

"I have no idea what to do. All I know is that it is caused by the doorway that Varuna created in his mindscape to access the sealing chains. The method he used to achieve it was created by an ancient Uzumaki and he is long dead. If anyone is even remotely aware of what we are facing that would be the Rabbits of Moon mountain." Mito looked at me and placed a hand on my shoulder that calmed my racing heartbeat after I heard the word 'parasite'

"You must go to their home and ask for information regarding Arashi Uzumaki's technique and if possible learn what is happening to you. Summon the Rabbits, Varuna." Mito said with a sense of urgency

I shook out of my frosted state and immediately performed the summoning Jutsu but this time I concentrated on two rabbits that I knew could be of help.

Two small blue and gold coloured rabbits popped up into existence. I let out a relieved sigh as my gambit worked.

"Everyone, this is Michiru and Ichiru. They trained Arashi Uzumaki to activate the sealing chains." I said as the two rabbits looked at me in confusion

"Why have you summoned us, Varuna." Ichiro asked

"Tsunade sensei found that my Yin chakra is overtaking my Yang chakra. Everyone thinks that this is because of the training I took to activate the sealing chains. You two taught Arashi Uzumaki this method. Can you help reverse what is happening to me please." I asked for their help and saw the two rabbits looked at each other and then promptly jumped on my shoulders and clapped their hands together.

"It is as you said Varuna. Your chakra is no longer in balance. But this was not supposed to happen. Why did this occur?" Michiru mused out loud in confusion

"Can you help him and stop this from happening?" my mother asked hopefully

"We have not dealt with such a thing but we can temporarily restore the balance of his chakra by absorbing his excess Yin chakra." Ichiro said and both the rabbits closed their eyes and sat still on my shoulders. After some minutes passed they opened their eyes and jumped down from my shoulders.

"The process is complete. Your chakra is now perfectly balanced." Michiru proclaimed happily as the twin rabbits gave a high-five which would have made me laugh but the situation was not that favourable for me

"Why did this happen and will it happen again?" Hiruzen asked the question that was burning in my mind

"It certainly will happen again and I think I understand what is happening. Don't you brother?" Michiru turned to look at Ichiru and they both shared a grave look

"But how is that possible. Our technique should not have opened…" Michiru paused mid-sentence and looked at me closely

"Of course!! Why didn't we think of this before? It must be.." Ichiro also stopped what he was going to say and a silent look of understanding passed between the twins

"What is going on? What are you two hiding?" I asked after I had enough of their secret communication

"We will explain everything tomorrow. You will need to spend the next day with us in the mountain. For now we must report to Tendou sama and make some arrangements. We think your condition can be cured tomorrow itself." Michiru promised

"Also for the time being never access your mindscape or engage in meditation. Do as much as physical activity as you can today. We will see you tomorrow and you will be as good as new. Right now we need to prepare some things to set up everything. See you tomorrow." With that said the two rabbits disappeared back to their home with a pop

"Varuna, dismiss your clone and perform the jutsu once more. I will check your chakra composition once again just to be on the safe side." Tsunade said and I complied with that and I dismissed my clone. Then with a bit of concentration, I summoned another Shadow clone. Tsunade began to check the clone's chakra composition.

"It's fine. The chakra is stabilized for now." Tsunade declared with a sigh of relief

"That seems to be a piece of good news. It seems we will have to wait a day for more information." Hiruzen said and then turned to me and my mom with a small smile.

"There is nothing to be worried about Varuna-Kun. From what I know of the summons they will always go to extreme ends to protect those who have signed the summoning contract." Hiruzen smiled and clapped my shoulders as a comforting gesture

"Sensei is right you know. Besides, with the training that I am going to give you, you will wish you had more Yin chakra. Now enough with all this business. We are going to the training grounds." Tsunade had me in a vice grip and dragged me out of my home

"Wait. I didn't have any breakfast." I yelled as I got dragged away from my home

"What a surprise I didn't have any as well. Looks like you have the unique opportunity to treat your sensei for breakfast. Isn't that great." Tsunade laughed meanly as she kidnapped me away from my freshly cooked ramen.

Back in the Uzumaki house, the three adults watched Tsunade drag away a screaming Varuna with small smiles.

"Don't worry about Varuna-Kun, Kasumi-chan. He is a resourceful kid and he will have all of our help. I will personally ask the clan to send some of their sealing experts to create a modified seal for him to regulate the Yin chakra if the Rabbits cannot help him. We have many options to explore after all." Mito hugged a distraught Kasumi close to her

After a while, Kasumi regained her bearings.

"I have heard that you are going to have one more grandchild. I should visit Tsuyoshi-chan someday to congratulate her and Hanaku-san." Kasumi smiled a little despite her gloomy thoughts

"I think Tsunade-chan is going to be a wonderful sister. She already treats Varuna like a brother and one more might just be enough to have her over the moon. It is truly a peaceful era we live in now all because of our predecessors. It is one more thing for us to be grateful for. I am sorry to cut this visit short Lady Kasumi. My duties await me in the office. Have a good day." Hiruzen said as he exited the Uzumaki clan house and sped away to his office

"I will check upon you both in the evening. We Uzumaki are made of stronger stuff. There is nothing in this world that we can't solve. Trust me." Mito said as she pulled Kasumi into one more hug and slowly walked away back to the Senju clan compound

Kasumi took a deep breath as she didn't want to lose her hope and appear weak at this time. Everything will be back to normal after tomorrow, she whispered to herself in her mind over and over.


	6. Meeting with a ghost

Tsunade dodged a roundhouse kick and retaliated with a punch. Her assailant slapped her hand away and delivered an elbow strike to her abdomen which she blocked with her knee. With a twist of her body, she slipped past her assailant and kicked him right behind his back but her leg only found air as her assailant backflipped over her head. She was about to turn but she was forced to dodge as a hail of Kunai came for her.

"Not bad Varuna. I almost had you if not for Kanao throwing those Kunai." Tsunade smirked but that was quickly replaced as she felt her body became immobile and she saw a long shadow branching out from 'Kanao'. To her surprise the 'Kanao' she saw popped away and Yumiko appeared in his place. At the same time, she felt a Kunai being pressed on her neck.

"We win, sensei." Kanao smirked in satisfaction but his eyes widened as the person before him crumbled into the earth and not a moment later he felt himself be dragged into the ground.

Tsunade smirked as she looked at the indignant look on Kanao as he struggled to get out of the trap she set for him. Her attention turned to her two other students who began running at her in a zig-zag pattern. Just as her two students reached her she began weaving hand seals quickly.

**"Water style: Tornado of water"**

A giant vortex of water spun around her body that swept away Yumiko and Varuna in an instant. She cancelled the Justu and the water fell apart around her with a splash.

"That was a worthy attempt but still not enough to defeat me." Tsunade said as she released Kanao from the trap and helped Yumiko and Varuna back to their feet

"We lost again." Yumiko complained with a dejected look

"You three were predictable. I knew Yumiko would always go for immobilising me after a surprise attack. But it was a good strategy to use a henge to confuse me. But I suggest that you train some more in close-quarter combat. A ninja must be well versed in all forms as we never know which situation we are going to face." Tsunade advised Yumiko who rapidly nodded her head

"Kanao, you have to master your clan jutsu fast. I guess I can start you in ninjutsu training a little early since your taijutsu is at a good level." Tsunade said and Kanao nodded happily

"Now I know I made you fight with a handicap Varuna. But you rely too much on ninjutsu. You have the Byakugan and yet most of the time, you seem to forget to use that in a fight. You should coordinate with Yumiko using your Byakugan to spot the enemies. Perhaps a code system ought to be developed between you two to exchange enemy positions. That way Yumiko can trap an enemy with her shadow possession jutsu with that aid of your Byakugan." Tsunade said as she looked at Varuna who was busy trying to remove the water that was clinging to his clothes but he nodded along in agreement

"Good. Now tomorrow Varuna will not be joining our team due to some clan related issues. So the rest of us will be training with one member short. Varuna already has a decent grasp of elemental training as he has learned quite a few fire style jutsu on his own." Tsunade nodded in Varuna's direction and turned to her other two students

"You two, on the other hand, do not have much jutsu in your arsenal except for a few that were taught in the Academy. Now that your chakra control has improved a little bit I will start to train you two in ninjutsu from tomorrow onwards. Both of you are dismissed." Tsunade said and watched as Yumiko and Kanao left the training grounds without much protest but they were casting curious glances at Varuna

"You didn't tell your friends anything about what is going on. Why?" Tsunade asked curiously

"I didn't want to trouble them with my problems. Besides if all goes well everything will blow over after tomorrow and then I will tell them." Varuna replied and Tsunade let out a huff at his answer and bonked him on his head which made him yelp

"You are too secretive for your own good but I will let you deal with this as you see fit. The only reason that we found out about your problem is because I know medical ninjutsu. If that was not the case imagine what would have happened." Tsunade said with an exaggerated sigh

"You don't have to subtlety poke me with that stick every time Tsunade. Just tell me straight forward that you want to teach me medical ninjutsu." Varuna said cutting straight to the heart of matter

"Alright, you caught me. I want to teach you medical ninjutsu. You have a lot of potential and you can save a lot of lives."

"I am not opposed to learning that branch of ninjutsu from you. Just don't expect me to become a medic ninja. Perhaps I can start a clinic when I am really old or something." Varuna mused

"You think funny. Most genin your age would pray for long Shinobi careers but here you are planning your retirement already. You are weird but I like you." Tsunade chuckled lightly at the expression on Varuna's face

"Just you wait, Tsunade. After my chakra is settled I will defeat you with the help of Yumiko and Kanao. Let's see who will laugh then." Varuna challenged

"Want to place a bet." Tsunade jumped in excitedly

"Alright. If I win you must teach us your super strength technique." Varuna proposed

"Agreed. But if I win you will pay my lunch bills from now on until I say otherwise." Tsunade challenged

"So long as the deciding match happens after six days from tomorrow, we have a deal." Varuna said and Tsunade shook hands with Varuna sealing the deal

After that Tsunade escorted Varuna back to his home and a comfortable silence developed between them. As they reached the Uzumaki clan compound Tsunade stopped walking and turned to Varuna.

"Don't forget, you should not do any meditation or exercise that will put a strain on your mind. Perhaps it would be better if you just go to sleep right away after dinner." Tsunade reminded her student

"Don't worry too much. I will be as good as new after tomorrow. You will see." Varuna declared confidently

"You better. I have to win that bet after all." Tsunade smirked as she messed up his hair a little

"You wish." Varuna said as he began to walk towards his home with a wave of his hand.

Tsunade watched him until he disappeared behind the doors of his home and made herself scarce with the body flicker Jutsu.

**XXXXXX**

Frankly, I didn't get much sleep last night with everything that was going on. In the elemental nations, a ninja with defective chakra means a death sentence. I didn't really want to die especially without a chance to even fight. I already threw my first life away for some nobody and I had no intention of dying again if I had any say in it. The fear of what would happen today had made me pace around in my room for the whole night. When morning light shined into my room I had dark circles under my eyes but my mother didn't either notice it or she conveniently didn't mention it to my face. Breakfast was a silent affair which was a strange thing in my home because usually, my mother's colourful personality made every morning more enjoyable.

"I guess it's time for me to go. Wish me luck." I said as I finished my breakfast

"Just wait a minute." My mother said as she immediately began to rummage around our kitchen until she dragged out a large number of crates

"What are these?" I asked her surprised

"I know your summons like carrots. So I bought a whole bunch of them yesterday. Take these with you when you go." She said as she began to arrange the boxes into several sealing scrolls and began to store them inside

"I am sure the rabbits will be happy. Thanks, mom." I let out a small laugh as I gathered all the scrolls and went outside my home. My mom also followed me on my way out and Tsunade was waiting outside for me

"I am surprised you woke up this early to see me off Tsunade." I greeted her with a small smile

"Don't get the wrong idea. I just want my student back as early as possible so that I can enjoy winning the bet we have. So you better finish whatever that your summons dish out to you and return in one piece." She looked at me sternly and before I could react she tied a necklace around my neck and I realised what it was quickly

"My grandfather gave me this necklace. I expect you to return it to me after you return to Konoha." Tsunade said as she gave me a strong hug and stepped back

I was really touched by her gesture. She really was a kind soul and I made a silent promise that I would not let this world hurt someone as caring and pure like her. Zetsu, Madara, Kaguya and the entire timeline can go fuck themselves as far as I was concerned. It was at that moment I was filled with conviction to fight for what matters in this world and that was my new family. Everything else was irrelevant as far as I am concerned. But to protect what matters to me I need power and influence. After today I will be working double-time to hone my skills and gather more power. With that resolution setting in, I was more than ready for my journey to the Moon mountain.

**"Summoning Jutsu"**

With a puff of smoke, Miku appeared on the summoning circle.

"Oh, hey Varuna. Where is the old lady?" Miku asked as he jumped on my shoulder and looked around curiously

"She is sleeping. Meet my mom, Kasumi and my sister, Tsunade. Everyone, this is Miku. He is a friend." I introduced him to Tsunade and my mother

Miku waved at them enthusiastically and they returned the favour.

"You ready to go?" Miku asked me as he jumped down on the ground from my shoulder

"Yep. Let's go." I answered and he immediately returned back to the mountains and reverse summoned me.

This time I was directly inside the underground chamber which was a relief as I didn't really fancy a roller coaster ride through the tunnels.

"Welcome back Varuna." Michiru greeted me as I neared the cave of Tendou-sama.

"Miku, you may leave. There are some things that Varuna has to discuss with Tendou-sama privately." Ichiru said as he appeared out of nowhere startling me

I knew Miku would not be that easily swayed so I took out all the storage scrolls and presented them to Miku.

"There are crates filled with lots of carrots sealed in it. Can you deliver this to others for me?" I asked politely to Miku who looked at the scrolls and then at the cave. In the end, Miku chose the scrolls and nodded seriously and then hopped away from the cave back to the tunnels

"Good work. He is not yet ready to receive the knowledge about certain things that Tendou-sama will be explaining to you. Come, he is waiting." Michiru said and together we went straight to Tendou-sama's cave

"Welcome back Varuna. It seems you have caught up in some serious peril." Tendou-sama said as his milky white eyes rounded up on me and my eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light in the cave

"It seems I have absorbed more Yin chakra into my body Tendou-sama. Can you reverse the problem I am facing and why is it happening in the first place? I followed the procedure for activating the sealing chains exactly as per Arashi-sama's instructions." I made the request with a bow

"It is not Yin chakra that is coursing through your body. Let me ask you something, where do you think the chakra for your sealing chains come from?" Tendou asked with a strange tone that I couldn't place

"The chakra is from my soul isn't it?" I asked somewhat hesitantly but received no confirmation which troubled me somewhat

"Have you heard about sage chakra?" Tendou suddenly asked after a long period of silence

"It is a chakra that is present in nature, the energy of our planet." I answered somewhat hesitantly

"Correct. But the nature of Sage chakra is physical in nature. Those who master it can argument their bodies to achieve extraordinary strength, increase the power of all their ninjutsu twice over and increase the senses available. This chakra is usually absorbed through the feet and channelled to the rest of one's body. But that is not the only source of nature chakra in the world." Tendou explained

"Then what is the other source?" I asked in interest as this was something entirely new to me

"If the physical body can access the Sage chakra from our planet then our soul can access Sage chakra from the Astral plane. It is this chakra that powers the Uzumaki clan's Adamantine sealing chains, not Yin chakra. Since the chakra source is from the pure world it shares some similarities to Yin chakra but in essence, it is Sage chakra." Tendou took a deep breath and continued

"It is this chakra that is running through your system. But unlike the Sage chakra from the planet, this chakra will not cause damage suddenly to the host. That is why you are still alive even now. If it was the Sage chakra of our planet then you would have died the moment it entered your body as you are not trained to handle it." Tendou-sama said with a huff

"So, Arashi Uzumaki was a Sage that has mastered the natural chakra of the Astral plane. But why did he never mention this risk in the technique in his scroll?" I asked the old rabbit with a frown while taking the information in stride

"There is no risk to the technique Arashi developed and he was not a Sage. He was very old by the time he activated the chains and he never got the time to learn the Sage Art from us." Tendou-sama said with a snort

"But then why is it the Sage chakra of Astral plane spilling into my body? I followed each and every step advocated by Arashi-sama's scroll." I was left confused and a little doubt began to creep into me whether I had made a mistake in my rush to activate the sealing chains

"There is no doubt you have retraced the path of Arashi Uzumaki perfectly, Varuna-kun. The reason why the Sage chakra is spilling into your body is because of your eyes and your ancestry." Tendou-sama proclaimed

"What? I don't understand." I was left a little bit confused at his answer

"You will understand everything shortly. First, we must take care of the Sage chakra spilling into your body. Ichiru and Michiru will help you in this endeavour." Tendou-sama waved his hand dismissively

"Come with us Varuna-kun. The healing chamber is ready for you." Ichiru said as he jumped into the cave startling me out of all the information dump I received

"Thank you for explaining all this to me, Tendou-sama." I bowed and followed Ichiru out of the cave. We walked through a tunnel for some time until we reached another cave which was illuminated by some fireflies that was emitting a strong light.

"This place is filled with nature chakra and all other beings are somewhat affected changing them in many ways." Ichiru answered my silent question

As I entered the cave I saw a medium-sized rabbit sitting on the floor pouring what appeared to be oil into a sarcophagus while Michiru was observing the whole thing.

"Varuna meet our best healer, Akio. She can heal any injuries quickly." Ichiru introduced the pink coloured rabbit

"It's good to meet you Akio-san. I thought I had met all the members of the rabbit clan." I said as I greeted her

"I usually travel around a lot to collect different herbs. So most of the time I won't be here." Akio explained as she worked on a steaming pot filled with a green liquid taking her attention away from the sarcophagus for the time being

"So, you want me to lie inside this sarcophagus?" I asked jokingly

"You catch on quickly. Please lie inside and immerse yourself inside the oil after you drink this." Akio pointed at two small glasses filled with silver-coloured liquid

"You are joking, right! How will I even breathe inside the oil? I will simply die without air and what is this liquid? Is it water from the sacred pond? I thought it was forbidden to drink that water." I fired of question after question as I panicked

"Don't worry. The water from the sacred pond will open up your cells to absorb more oxygen. So you won't need to breathe and the oil is a special blend that will augment your physical body to the strain the Sage chakra from the Astral plane create. When the Sun sets tomorrow you will be reborn into the world in a sense. Now keep quiet and do as I say and you will walk out of here happy back to your life. Now get in there." Akio pointed her paw at the sarcophagus with a pointed look

I let out a sigh and drank the silver-coloured water which was surprisingly very sweet. The moment the last drop of the liquid entered my body my vision began to become blurry. I felt myself getting picked up my Michiru and Ichiru and they pushed me into the sarcophagus and I knew no more.

After some time my awareness began to return and I found myself lying face down in my mindscape. I quickly sat up and I panicked at the state I found my mindscape in. The doorway that I had painstakingly constructed was now blown off outwards with the doors hanging loosely on its hinges. I immediately placed my hands on the door and slowly gathered my Yin chakra to rebuild the doorway.

"There is no need to do that Varuna Uzumaki." I heard a voice from my back

I turned around quickly ready to unleash a jutsu but I stopped as my eyes widened in recognition. The person standing before me was none other than Hamura Otsutsuki.

"I hope you can forgive me for intruding into your mindscape. The chance to meet someone like you was too good to pass up for me. My name is Hamura Otsutsuki and I am your ancestor." Hamura introduced himself as he floated towards me

"How is this possible?" I mumbled in shock

"Certain conditions aligned for me to meet you in person. It was my greatest hope that one day my brother's bloodline would join with mine and now that dream has become a reality. From your mother's side, you inherited my brother's physical chakra and from your father's side, you inherited my spiritual chakra. Then again I believe this is no news to you, is it?" Hamura asked with an expressionless face making me step back in fear

"Don't worry. I am rather thankful to whatever entity decided to intervene by placing your soul into this universe. It seems that the forces outside this Universe are aware of the growing threat." Hamura mused as he floated like a ghost

"Growing threat? Are you referring to other Otsutsuki clan members?" I asked somewhat relieved that he was not mad at me

"Yes. Their scale of atrocities grows every day and they had thousands of years to exploit a number of worlds and pushed them into destruction. After my mother was sealed I explored the universe and found other Otsutsuki clan members. It was then that I realized the danger that they posed. Shocked by the cruel history of these beings I returned back to the Moon and started to build my own clan. Unfortunately, most of my children didn't inherit all of my powers and in the end, they split apart into different clans. I had hoped for another Tenseigan to awaken but it was not to be until now that is." Hamura looked at me pointedly

"I don't understand you. If you knew about the Otsutsuki clan surely you could have taken care of them by yourself." I asked genuinely curious to his reaction

"I tried and I failed. When I returned back from my journey I found my brother engaged in a quest of his own to bring peace to our home planet. I didn't want to burden him with more so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I honed my powers to evolve the Byakugan eyes that I inherited from my mother. It was by chance that I came across the Rabbits of Moon mountain in my journey to evolve my eyes. They taught me a very different method of Senjutsu and it was the mastery of the chakra from the pure world that activated my Tenseigan." Hamura said as his eyes changed from pure white to that of a flower pattern in a heartbeat and I felt a tremendous chakra wash over me

"With the power of Tenseigan, I was able to reach to an equal footing with my brother. But I was naïve and began targeting several Otsutsuki clan members. I didn't want to kill them so I devised a seal using the Tenseigan to seal their powers away as I didn't have my brother with me. It was here that I underestimated the power of Rinne-Sharingan. The seals that I placed on my first opponent didn't work as the Rinne-Sharingan was able to counter my Tenseigan. In such a battle I was defeated and I lost a good portion of my power as the Rinne-Sharingan damaged my Tenseigan beyond repair and I was forced to retreat back to my Moonbase." Hamura paused and sadly shook his head

"The rest of my life I lived in constant fear of retribution from the Otsutsuki clan. I started the construction of an energy vessel that powered my Moonbase so that my descendants could one day defend the planet should an attack happen. I was also hopeful that another Tenseigan wielder will come along but to this day I have not met one. Now you have the potential to awaken the Tenseigan eye and perhaps go further than that. There is only one eye that can match the Rinne-Sharingan and that is the Jougan which makes our meeting that much necessary. Under no circumstances that child Boruto in your memories must be born into the world. Stop this from happening at any cost." Hamura's order confused and startled me

"I don't understand. Boruto was able to activate the Jougan directly and isn't that a good thing. He will be able to face the full power of Rinne-Sharingan and defeat all Otsutsuki clan members." I asked confusedly

"Boruto was able to activate the Jougan directly because he inherited the remnant chakra of all the tailed beasts from his father and the eyes of his mother. This combined with the fact that the boy's father is Ashura's reincarnate further complicates the matter." Hamura stopped seeing my disbelieving look

"If you don't believe me look at what happened to my mother. She activated the Rinne-Sharingan directly which overwhelmed her senses and personality over time. The same will happen to this Boruto and when that happens another monster will roam this Universe. I know what I am asking is a lot but for the sake of every life in this planet you must prevent the birth of this child." Hamura concluded with a sigh

"Even if I am willing to do as you ask the other Otsutsuki clan members will continue to wreck havoc across the Universe." I argued

"Which is why you must activate the Jougan. If you can master the Senjutsu taught by the Rabbit clan then your Byakugan will evolve to Tenseigan. Then you must implant a portion of Ashura's chakra from a reincarnate as well as a portion of chakra from all the tailed beasts and hope that the Jougan will activate. This is the safest path that I can think of that will not lead this Universe into unspeakable disaster." Hamura said gravely

"Why do you trust me? I can easily misuse that power and become a monster that will bring more destruction." I asked him genuinely curious as I was still weirded out by meeting Hamura all of a sudden

"I don't trust you or anyone for that matter. Right now you are the best chance to put down the Otsutsuki clan. I trusted my descendants and they all failed in this quest. I don't trust any of Hagoromo's descendants as well as they tend to go to the extremes and botch everything up. So I am betting on you who carries both Hagoromo's and my bloodline. Perhaps you can succeed where all of us failed." Hamura mused as he stared at me with an unreadable expression

"I have another question. How are you sure that my Byakugan will evolve into Tenseigan after I master Senjutsu? It may have happened for you but I am not an Otsutsuki like you." I asked him as I was sure the Otsutsuki clan was entirely different from the human species

"A valid point. I will observe you from your mindscape till you master Senjutsu and after that, I will decide to either transfer much of my remaining chakra into you or to return back to the pure world. When my chakra enters your system it will act as a catalyst for the awakening of your own Tenseigan." Hamura said and with a wave of his hand the doorway began to be restored and soon it returned to it's original state

"Great. I now will have an annoying voice in my head for the rest of my life. This is going to be fun." I mumbled under my breath

"What was that?" Hamura asked

"Nothing. Since you are here in my mind you can teach me many things yourself." I suggested excitedly

"What exactly can I teach you? I do not have to weave hand seals like you to wield my chakra." Hamura reminded me

"Maybe, but you can teach me all about sealing. You managed to transport yourself all the way to the Moon from this planet by using a seal. Even after all these years, the best teleportation seal created by Shinobi is the Flying Thunder God Jutsu developed by Senju Tobirama. With your help, I can create a mass transportation seal that can save the Uzumaki clan from being butchered in the coming war." I said excitedly as a solution to a long-standing problem appeared before me

"I was of the opinion that you didn't want to change the timeline." Hamura lightly prodded

"Before meeting you I had no way of saving the Uzumaki clan or the people of Uzu. But now there is a small possibility that I can save them with your help." I said confidently

"So you are not worried that if you save the Uzumaki clan the future will be changed beyond your understanding." Hamura asked curiously

"Not anymore. I know that the people around me are not some characters that was the imagination of someone from my world. I am real and hence everybody around me is also real. I am not arrogant enough to promise protection and peace for the entire world but I can protect my family and friends to the best of my ability. Even if you don't help me I will save as many as I can from Uzu." I said and my heart was in it as this was something that I was thinking for a while but it was Tsunade that pushed me in this direction

Hamura observed me and stayed silent for some time until finally, he replied

"Good. I will teach you the seals that you need to save your family. Trust me when I say that your connection to humanity lends you a strength that can work wonders in some situations. The stronger your bonds are stronger your chakra will be especially as you are a descendant of Ashura. It is time that you go to hibernate as the healing chakra has penetrated your entire body. We will speak another time."

Before I could say anything I felt my concentration waver and I was expelled from my mindscape.

**XXXXX **

I woke up with a start as I came out of hibernation. Michiru and Ichiru helped me out of the sarcophagus.

"How are you feeling? Do you feel any nausea?" Akio asked as she fussed over me and began scanning me with medical ninjutsu

"My vision is blurry and I feel my head spinning." I managed to choke out as my senses went haywire

"Don't worry. That is the aftereffect of hibernation. Here, drink this…" Michiru passed me a glass with a green liquid

"What is it?" I asked as I took the glass with trembling hands

"It's a blend of several medicinal herbs. It will help in restoring your senses. Now drink." Akio commanded as she continued to check up on me

"How long was I in there?" I asked them as I began to take small sips of the potion which was surprisingly very sweet despite its appearance

"You woke up just before sunrise. Well, your body is healed of any lingering strain from the sage chakra. You are good to go." Akio declared after her scanning was complete

"In that case, you must go and see Tendou-sama before you return to Konoha." Ichiro said as he shooed me away from the cave and concentrated on helping Akio and Michiru clean up the sarcophagus

With nothing else to do I retraced the path back to Tendou-sama's cave. As I ran through the tunnels I slowly began to get a feel of my chakra and it was far different from before and that brought me to a halt. Before the healing process, my chakra was like a viscous fluid similar to oil. But now it felt like a free-flowing stream of water that was so smooth that I felt I could command it to move any way I wished. I felt as if I had complete dominance over my chakra and that was not all. My chakra reserves have tripled overnight which was amazing as all the theory behind chakra that I had studied concluded there was no way to artificially increase chakra reserves of a body. But now it was turning out to be a misconception on my part.

I fisted my hands tightly and I could feel a new level of strength in my limbs. With the chakra available to me and the Shadow Clone Jutsu, I will be ready for the Second Great Ninja War and I will protect what matters to me in this world. With that thought, I made my way to the elder Rabbit and I vowed that I will carve my place in this world.


	7. Rasengan and some major decisions

Tendou observed the human child standing in front of him closely. He could feel the change in chakra that was running through the boy which means the healing had succeeded.

"It seems Akio has succeeded in her task." Tendou commented lightly

"You have my thanks for helping me Tendou-sama." Varuna bowed thanking the elder rabbit

"Think nothing of it. It is our duty to help you as your summons and that brings me to another matter at hand. We usually use this treatment to those who are ready for the sage training. Seeing as you have undergone the treatment you might as well start sage training." Tendou suggested as he picked a handful of carrots and began to munch on them

"Thank you for trusting me with your knowledge Tendou-sama. If there is nothing else I shall take my leave." Varuna bowed and was about to leave but Tendou raised a hand and stopped him

"Before you leave the mountain, take this with you." Tendou threw a storage scroll which Varuna caught in his hands

"What is it?" Varuna asked curiously

"You will know when you open it. Return back after seven nights. By then your body will be ready to undergo sage training. Now, you may leave as I would like to get some sleep." Tendou closed his eyes to slumber

Varuna rubbed the back of his head at the peculiar attitude of the elder Rabbit sage but nonetheless respected the elder's wish. He secured the scroll on his back and after saying goodbye to Miku and other rabbits he returned back to Konoha.

**XXXXX**

Kasumi was having a bad day just like yesterday. She couldn't concentrate on her work as her thoughts strayed often to her son's wellbeing. She didn't know how she managed to push time yesterday. It felt as if it was the longest day of her life and now she was pacing back and forth. She had tried to calm herself down by cooking a lot of Ramen for Varuna as he will be returning back this morning. But in her excitement, she cooked the so fast that left her extra time and now she was pacing in the living room like a mad demon

"What is taking him so long? I will be having some words with those rabbit friends of his about punctuality." She murmured heatedly

A sudden popping sound startled her out of her thoughts. When she turned around she saw Varuna standing there with a baffled look on his face.

"How did I end up inside the house?" she heard him whisper as she engulfed him in a hug

"I think those rabbit friends of yours heard my silent threats and transported you close to me." She said with a small laugh

"That might have been the reason." Varuna returned the laughter as he broke the hug

"So, how did it go?" Kasumi asked worriedly

"I am as good as new. Perhaps even better from what I am feeling right now." Varuna replied and looked around curiously as he smelled the heavenly odour of his mother's special ramen

"Is that what I think it is?" Varuna asked as his senses went haywire

"I made all sorts of Ramen for you. I knew you didn't have much to eat with the rabbits." Kasumi said as she messed up his hair a little

"Really. That's great because I am starving." Varuna then dragged his mother straight to the kitchen and began to devour anything and everything that was edible which transformed into an eating contest between the two Uzumaki.

**XXXXX VARUNA XXXXX**

After I had cleaned out the kitchen of food I hurried out of my home in a rush to the training ground of my team. I had promised that I would be present for today's training and I was not about to break that promise. Besides, I felt like I have the energy to run through the entire fire nation a couple of times never breaking a sweat. It was really exhilarating to jump through the numerous roofs of buildings and I now understood why most ninjas use this path. It also helped that a lot of distance can be covered in a short amount of time. Within a few minutes, I managed to close the distance to my destination and reached the training ground of my team. Tsunade was the first to notice my presence.

"Don't stand there like a fool. You are already late as it is." Tsunade said as she looked straight at me even if I was shielded by some leaves of the three that I was standing on

"Sorry about that sensei. I won't be late again." I said with a sheepish look as my two teammates looked with an enquiring gaze

"See that you don't. How did it go?" Tsunade asked

"I am as good as new and I guess I can return this to you now." I said as I handed over Tsunade's necklace which she took back with a smile and secured it around her neck once again.

"Wait a second. What are you talking about? What happened to you Varuna?" Kanao asked as he realised something else was going on

"You were not well. Something was affecting your chakra wasn't it?" Yumiko asked with a frown

"How did you know that?" I asked in surprise

"Your chakra is different from what it was before." Yumiko said

"You are a sensor." I said and let out a deep breath and continued, "There is no point in hiding anymore. I had some problems with my chakra and yesterday I got myself healed. Now I am as good as new."

"Why didn't you say anything to us?" Kanao asked with a soft voice

"I am sorry I didn't tell you guys. I didn't want you guys to be worried about me. My mother was already treating me like a glasswork that would shatter at the slightest disturbance. I didn't want that atmosphere with you guys as well." I said with an apologetic look

"We are your friends. You should have told us." Kanao said and Yumiko nodded along

"I am sorry and I promise I won't do something like this again." I apologised to my two friends

"You better not or else I will punch you in the face and knock some sense into your thick head." Kanao threatened me with his fist which was expanded by his clan jutsu making me take a step back in fear

"I hate to interrupt your little moment but we have missions to complete. So are you guys coming or what?" Tsunade stood up and began walking out of the training ground in a sedate pace

"Hey, wait sensei. We are coming." Kanao shouted as we followed Tsunade

"So what is it this time?" I asked already expecting a mundane job

"This time we are going to create a support structure using wooden poles under the Third Hokage's face on the mountain. It seems that a portion of the face on the mountain has been damaged somewhat and we have been asked to help the architect by creating the support structure." Tsunade said as we reached the Hokage tower and began to slowly climb the mountain

"But sensei how are we going to do that all by ourselves? We have to make all the wooden poles and then carry them to the site and then build all of it. We don't have the numbers to do all of that." Yumiko said as she looked at her two teammates for support

"Yeah. How are we going to do all that?" Kanao asked

"We won't. Another team will handle collecting the wooden poles while we just have to construct the support structure." Tsunade answered without turning back

"Another team? I wonder who that could be?" Kanao asked as he looked at me and I answered with a shrug

Finally, we reached the top of the mountain but we found no one there or any of the materials we needed to start the work.

"It seems like the other team is running late sensei. What should we do now?" Kanao asked with a sigh

"Just wait a moment. They are nearly here." Tsunade said meanwhile I was looking at the full view of the entire Leaf Village from the very top.

It was truly a marvellous view and even after seeing it many times it still took my breath away. Perhaps it was because I know that this was also the same place Hashirama and Madara used to watch over the village and the place where the idea of a ninja village was even born. While looking at the entire village I could understand the enormity of what Hashirama Senju was about to accomplish. He was able to brought together all the ninja clans of the fire nation and bring peace between them. It may have gave rise to war between nations but constant warfare of the Warring clans era has been averted.

Frankly I don't understand how Madara can even claim to be a seeker of peace. That psychotic Uchiha has not been able to bring peace to even a small butterfly in his entire life and he is arrogant enough to claim that he will bring peace to the entire world. Then there is also the fact that his idea of peace is by wiping it all living beings on the planet. Now Hashirama on the other hand has managed to bring stability to the Fire Nation. His actions also resulted in other ninja villages to be formed across other nations and the infighting between the clans of these nations stoped. There were clans like Kaguya that still remained seperated from any affiliation to villages but they were very few in number.

The Hidden Village system was by no means perfect but it paved the way to address a large population of Shinobi and constant wars of the Warring clans era has been averted. Hashirama may have botched it up by delivering the Tailed Beasts as a peace offering but the system of Hidden Villages was certainly a necessary evil. It was not that different from my own world. Nations fought wars with each other for a wide variety of reasons and it was the same here. I realised peace as an end goal is a stupid goal as it will never last forever but cooperation and alliances based on mutually beneficial economy, military strategy, culture, traditions etc can be achieved. In my mind that was the best form of peace that can be achieved in the real world. I was broken out of my thoughts when Tsunade bonked me on my head.

"Stop daydreaming and get to work." Tsunade screamed at me

"Huh, but there are no materials for us to…" I trailed off as I saw a giant pile of wooden poles lying on the ground

"You were in dreamland for the entire time and you didn't even sense the other team which delivered the supplies What has gotten into you?" Tsunade boxed my ears in making me cry in pain

"Oww…Stop that…I'm sorry…" I cried and she released me and I was sure my ears were glowing a very deep shade of red as I saw Yumiko and Kanao were laughing at my face

"Stop spacing off and start working." Tsunade bellowed and we three jumped at her sound and began working fast-paced.

Since the three of us had mastered the tree walking exercise we had no problem in completing the mission quickly. All we had to do was to bind the wooden poles in close positions around the statue. Still, it was a good exercise to test out our chakra control and stamina. Within two hours we completed the mission and was on our way to the next mission which was to transport some furniture to the Academy.

After completing the two missions we returned back to our training grounds. Tsunade had started ninjutsu training for both Yumiko and Kanao. My two friends were lucky as Yumiko had Water affinity and Kanao had Earth affinity. Tsunade had the affinity for both Earth and Water style jutsu and she was helping them in elemental transformation.

Meanwhile, I was given more and more advanced chakra control techniques to master. After the special treatment that I had undergone my chakra control was almost perfect. So the number of leaves that I could stick to me on their edges have increased dramatically. So, when I mastered that exercise even when I was tree walking or running over the water Tsunade had her jaws hanging in utter bewilderment. She even had me run two laps around the village with all the leaves sticking to my body but my control never broke. Whatever the Rabbits did with me it helped the synchronization of my Yin and Yang chakra. I felt as if my chakra was an obedient puppy that will do everything that I asked it to regardless of the difficulty of the task. I especially enjoyed the dejected look on Tsunade's face when I returned back from my laps with all the leaves still sticking on my body.

With the exercise complete I was free for the rest of my time as Tsunade had not brought the necessary supplies for the next exercise. Apparently, sharp needles were needed for the next step of chakra control and I had a very bad feeling as a strange glint passed through Tsunade's eyes when she informed me.

As Tsunade continued to help my two teammates I decided this was the perfect time for some personal training. With that thought in my mind, I made a ram seal.

**"Shadow Clone Jutsu"**

Two shape clones popped into existence near me. I was careful to not put too much chakra into both of them. Even with my increased chakra reserves, I was vigilant with the use of Shadow Clones. The jutsu was a Kinjutu for a reason after all.

"Ok guys, you know what to do. One if you will be practising with seals while the other will practice hand seals for wind Jutsu." I handed over some wind jutsu scrolls and sealing scrolls with brush and ink

"Yes, boss." The clones saluted me and marched off together under the shade of trees to get away from the glaring Sun

My eyes twitched at the cheekiness of my clones as they walked like they were in a military parade. I was afraid my clones would have some strange quirky personality and my fears had come true. Perhaps my own thoughts may have subconsciously given them the military personality because of the ridiculous things I had seen Naruto's clones were up to in the anime.

I let out a sigh and jumped over a tree and made myself comfortable on a thick sturdy branch. I activated the Byakugan and tried to connect with my mindscape. This time before I even closed my eyes I felt a strange sensation washing over me.

**_"Don't worry. Your Yang chakra and body has become alert enough to access your mindscape without the aid of meditation. It is a necessary skill to master the Sage chakra." Hamura whispered from my mind_ **

"Huh, that's cool I guess. But that's not why I contacted you. As you know I have the Byakugan but the Hyuga clan will not train me to use the eyes effectively. If you can please teach me to use the Byakugan. At the moment all I know about it is to use it to scan my surroundings." I made my request and it was true because even after all these years I had no idea to use the Byakugan efficiently. It was with the help of Rabbits that I was even somewhat proficient in taijutsu as the 3600 vision of the Byakugan always distracted me.

**_"From your memories of the Hyuga clan I doubt you would have benefited from any training they could provide you." Hamura mused_ **

"What is that?" I asked even as I observed the two clones starting their work

**_"Even after all these years, they have not even scratched the surface of the Byakugan's true power." Hamura spoke with obvious disappointment _**

"Byakugan's true power? The Hyuga are fearsome in a taijutsu match. Even an Uchiha with a matured Sharingan will struggle to hold up against a Hyuga in taijutsu. It is true they could beach out a little and be formidable shinobi but it doesn't mean they have not trained in-depth with the Byakugan." I defended the Hyuga a little because I know from experience the difficulty to work with a Byakugan. The fact that all the clan members have mastered the all-round vision and still remain sane is no small feet. It requires extreme discipline and concentration to maintain the 360 vision and fight as they do and I admired hem for it.

**_"Don't get me wrong as I impressed by their accomplishments but there is so much more to the Byakugan than just the 360-degree vision. How do you think the Byakugan works?" Hamura posed a question to me_ **

"My guess is that every Byakugan eye emits a form of radiation in the form of light that is invisible to others that can penetrate all animate and inanimate objects in the world. But there is a range limitation for each Byakugan. With constant training, the range of Byakugan can be broadened. Am I right?" I answered uncertainly

**_"You are correct. The Byakugan emits a light that is in a unique frequency to each eye. Every Byakugan may look the same but each of them is different in their range and light within them. Those who are able to master the light within the eyes can control the perception and vision of others. In short, the Byakugan is in every way superior to the base form of Sharingan." Hamura paused as he chuckled at the shocked state he managed to land me as I was of the opinion that the Sharingan was the superior eye _**

"But the Sharingan is more versatile than the Byakugan. With each tome added the ability of the Sharingan improves dramatically. It even has the ability to copy ninjutsu and taijutsu. Also, don't forget the Sharingan is absolutely good with casting Genjutsu." I argued

**_"The Byakugan may not be able to copy everything as the Sharingan does but there are other uses for your eyes. With enough training and control, you can be able to look into the memories of another person and even implant different memories. If you are skilled enough you can even perform hypnosis on others with your eyes which is more difficult to break away than a Genjutsu. Frankly, the Byakugan is the most dangerous eyes as all its abilities are so subtle that it can't be even detected by others." Hamura said with a little pride as he knew that he inherited the best genes from his mother. After what he learned about the Otsutsuki clan he was aware that he was lucky enough not to be cursed by the Sharingan._ **

"I never knew that. Can you teach me how to use the Byakugan Hamura-sama?" I made my request as this was a golden opportunity to study under the guidance of an Otsutsuki

**_"Hmm…I guess I can help you a little with that. First, you must learn how the Byakugan is functioning and the chakra flow in your eyes. You may have already noticed that the Byakugan seems to concentrate its chakra flow right between your eyes. That spot is where your eyes interchange chakra and if you can master the chakra flow in that spot then you can awaken the abilities of the Byakugan. It will not be easy to do this and even then you will have to train your eyes and manipulate the light that is emitted from the Byakugan." Hamura explained_ **

"I almost forgot to ask. When can we start on sealing jutsu? I do need a mass teleportation seal if the Uzu invasion happens." I quickly reminded him

**_"Rushing into everything will not let you solve any of the problems. First, improve your barrier seals and the speed of your sealing. Try to create your own seals and then we can move on to space-time manipulation. Also, invest some time to research gravity seals. They are a prerequisite for learning advanced sealing methods." Hamura suggested_ **

"You are right. I am rushing too much. So, tell me more about the Byakugan." I asked and carefully listened to the instructions of Hamura.

I began to slowly do as he instructed. The first part was that I should be able to regulate the chakra flow between my eyes to fluctuate the eyes. The chakra pathways between the eyes were very small in size compared to other pathways in the body. With constant fluctuations, I must first subtly enlarge the pathway to let the two eyes interact with each other. The second step was to let the chakra pathways to coil around each other in the form of a spiral. After that, it was all about manipulating the chakra in the Byakugan and it would, in turn, manipulate the light from my eyes.

The chakra pathway usually enlarges by itself as the Byakugan develops over time. This was how the range of Byakugan usually increase and it was the same for myself. I was warned by Hamura not to pump up chakra through the pathway and rather use the Byakugan more to naturally let the pathway expand. Seeing as he was the expert I complied with his instructions.

The only way that I could complete the first step is by keeping the Byakugan activated all the time. But that will create many problems as I doubted I could sleep with the penetrating vision of Byakugan activated. So I decided to let the eyes be activated whenever I was training or on a mission. With that decision made I jumped down from the tree and decided to practice some taijutsu with a few shadow clones. I was engrossed in my little training until my two friends came by after Tsunade left taking a lunch break. I dismissed all the shadow clones and the info blowback was manageable than I thought. Still, I cringed as a sharp pain developed in my head.

"Sensei dismissed us for lunch break. I know this new restaurant that is opening today. How about we try out the food?" Kanao asked as he and Yumiko approached me

"Sure. It will be my treat for keeping you guys in the dark about my little problem." I proposed

"Fine by me. This day gets better and better. Free food here I come." Kanao led us to this new shop with a spring in his step

"You are going to regret this." Yumiko whispered to me just before entering the restaurant

Half an hour later I was sitting at a table with my two other friends with a depressed look. Yumi to was looking at me with a 'told you so' look while Kanao was happily consuming several meat dumplings. Our first order was a modest order consisting of rice, soup, meat dumplings, tofu pork and a glass of milk. From there it so-called out of control as Kanao proved to be a true Akimichi by ordering again and again until I lost count. It was true as ninjas it was necessary to consume a lot of food and in that department, I believe Kanao must surely be in the top five. Looks like I blew away a lot my reserve cash and then I remembered something that I forgot to mention to my teammates.

"I forgot to mention that I made a bet with Tsunade." I said

"What kind of bet?" Yumiko asked now suddenly alert

"I may have challenged her to a fight this weekend." I said with a troubled smile

"What are the stakes?" Yumiko asked and even Kanao shifted his attention from food to the conversation

"If we win she will teach us her super-strength technique." I said with a smile

"If we lose?" Yumiko asked calmly

"We will have to cover the expense for her lunch until she says otherwise." I answered with a flinch

The chopsticks in Kanao's hand clattered on the floor. Yumiko's face was unreadable but her hands were tightly clenched showing her displeasure.

"What were you thinking? We can hardly even land a single punch on sensei. How are we supposed to defeat her in a few days?" Yumiko finally exploded

"Don't worry. I have a plan and it is almost complete. I just need both of your help and a little bit of input as well." I said as a mad idea suddenly came to me

"What is the plan?" Kanao asked making me smile and lean forward whispering into their ears.

Later that day in the evening after our team training session was over, I went back to my home and began to prepare for a crucial element for my plan. After having six cups of instant ramen my chakra levels were restored and was ready to master the Rasengan. I had already mastered the first two steps of rotation and power. Now all that was left for me to do was the shape manipulation. Luckily for me, I now have very good chakra control.

I raised my left hand and began gathering chakra. Now, I began to rotate and increase the power of chakra swirling on my hand. Using my left hand I began to compress the chakra and shaped the chakra into a perfect sphere. In the end, a blue spear of compressed chakra was eerily spinning on the palm of my right arm. My heart was beating fast as my excitement rose to another level. I ran outside from my home aiming straight for the first tree that came into my field of vision. With an excited yell, I smashed the Rasengan into the bark of the tree and watched as the tree just splintered under my jutsu with a boom.

A satisfied smile came to my face and I barked out a laugh at my success. Finally, after years of hard labour, I managed to create the Rasengan. Now it was time to master the Rasengan.

**"Shadow clone jutsu"**

Four shadow clones popped into existence before me.

"Train with the Rasengan. Try to shorten the time it takes to form the Jutsu. After you guys have accomplished that dismiss yourselves." I ordered them and returned back to my from with the thought of practising more seals.

It was then I remembered about the scroll the Rabbit clan gave me and I immediately inspected that. It was a standard storage scroll of the Uzumaki clan and I unsealed it. There was a puff of smoke and a huge weapon was lying over the scroll. It was exactly in the shape of the Senju clan symbol and I immediately recognized it as the weapon Vajra that Mito-sama spoke about. Before I grasped the weapon I activated my Byakugan and scanned it curiously. Surprisingly the Vajra had some very complex and minute pathways inside that was branching out from the middle to the two extreme ends.

I picked it up and thankfully nothing weird happened. I wanted to channel my chakra into the weapon to see what would happen but I controlled myself. I had already divided my chakra among four clines and I had a schedule to keep up. So I resealed the Vajra back into the scroll and decided to work more on sealing.

For the next few days, I used the shadow clones to train and master all ninjutsu techniques that I would be using against Tsunade. For the moment I had shelved Vajra as I had no intention of wasting my time to train with a new weapon. Besides, I have no idea how that thing works and any scrolls regarding Vajra is in Uzushio. Anyway, my main focus was to win against Tsunade and the only advantage I have over her is in sealing. So when the day of our spar finally arrived I was as prepared as I could be.

"I hope you little brats are ready to pay my lunch bills from now on." Tsunade smirked as she looked at us with a superior look

"Don't let your hopes up Sensei. You really have a streak of bad luck in betting." Yumiko pointed out as she subtly palmed a few smoke bombs in her hand behind her back

"Perhaps this is where my fortunes are going to change. I am not going to lose to some brats barely out of the academy." Tsunade scoffed as she took a stance

"Stranger things have happened sensei." Kanao said as he partially enlarged his hands and took a stance

"Let's go." I said as Kanao stayed back with Yumiko while I rushed straight for Tsunade. Usually, it was the other way around but this time we decided to switch things up a little bit.

The moment that I came close to her I created two Shadow clones and made them engage her in hand to hand combat while drew the katana that I had strapped on my back. Tsunade was not even slightly faced as she expertly weaved around our attacks. Still, I managed to keep her at an arms length with a flurry of quick jabs and my shadow clones did their part by deflecting her counter strikes. After I was sure that I had brought enough time for my team I went with a slash of my sword aimed at Tsunade's legs and my shadow clones tried to kick at her abdomen. Predictable she jumped over her heads and aimed a kick at my head. Unfortunately for her that's exactly what I wanted from her and bent myself backwards performing a short chain of hand seals.

**"Wind Release: Gale palm"**

I clapped my hands together compressing the wind released it at Tsunade who had no way of dodging it. A strong gale of wind blew away Tsunade right into the line of sight of Yumiko and Kanao.

I saw Kanao jump straight for Tsunade and managed to punch her into the ground with his expanded arm. But the 'Tsunade' before them crumbled into the earth as it was an earth clone. I saw Kanao quickly crossed his arms in front of his face as the real Tsunade jumped out if the earth and kicked Kanao away. Tsunade was about to continue hitting Kanao but Yumiko threw several smoke bombs around Kanao bringing much-needed cover. Tsunade emerged from the smoke to try chase after Kanao and Yumiko but I threw several shuriken at her making her move back right where we were standing not long ago. I smiled victoriously as Tsunade unknowingly stood inside a circle of kunai that had seals drawn on them placed covertly by Yumiko while I was engaging Tsunade in battle. The seals activated at that exact moment and began to release the lightning chakra that I had stored in it courtesy of my mom. The lightning chakra electrocuted Tsunade who had not at all expected seals to be arrayed against her and I was observing her with my Byakugan to make sure that she was the original and not a clone.

Yumiko quickly performed her Shadow Possession Jutsu and caught Tsunade before she could do anything and I created a Shadow clone who immediately ran straight towards Tsunade with a bright ball of chakra forming in its hand. As the clone neared her it punched Tsunade in her abdomen with the Rasengan just as the lightning chakra dissipated cutting off any chance of escape. Yumiko held strong with her jutsu meanwhile I used the Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind Tsunade. Kanao ran close to Tsunade and kept a kunai to her throat for added security.

"Did we catch her?" Yumiko asked me never taking her eyes away from Tsunade and her binding jutsu

"Yep. There is no mistake. We have won." I said as I confirmed it was Tsunade and her Chakra was being suppressed by the sealing formula that I had integrated into the Adamantine chains.

We saw Tsunade open her eyes from her dazed state and narrowed after she realised she couldn't break away from our trap.

"Sensei, do you surrender?" Kanao asked as he held a kunai to Tsunade's throat

"Fine. You brats win." Tsunade huffed and we released all the bindings on her person

"I am sorry for hurting you." I said as I looked at Tsunade's bloodied abdomen with a pained expression

"Don't worry about it. This wound is nothing." Tsunade said as she began to heal the wound caused Rasengan.

I watched in wonder as the wound sealed itself shut by the Mystical palm jutsu. It was really a useful jutsu and it may come in handy sooner or later. I really wanted to learn that jutsu as it was a childhood dream for me to become a doctor.

"What was that jutsu you used against me Varuna?" Tsunade asked as she straightened up and cracked her stiff joints

"It's called the Rasengan." I answered her with a proud smile and I didn't feel any regret in stealing Minato Namikaze's technique because I needed every shred of power I can gather to survive in this world. Perhaps I might even teach the chibi-Minato this jutsu when he graduates from the academy if I manage to survive that long.

"Huh, so you completed that Jutsu. That's impressive you know. I doubt anyone can claim that they created an A-rank jutsu when they were eleven." Tsunade praised

"The jutsu is not complete. I think I can add an element to enhance its power." I commented with a shrug

"Hmm." Tsunade grunted and turned to Kanao. "I also noticed that you used your clan technique effectively and stood back to protect Yumiko instead of engaging me in combat as you usually do."

"It was Yumiko's idea for me to switch places with Varuna. She said that you wouldn't be expecting that as we always sparred with me leading the taijutsu." Kanao said with a modest smile

"Good call Yumiko. You planted the trap within a short time under the cover of smoke and I guess you planned all of this out." Tsunade smiled at Yumiko who blushed at the attention

"Varuna had a plan. I just changed some parts of it." Yumiko squeaked out and I had never seen her that flustered. Guess she had trouble taking praise from others or is it because of Tsunade, I mused as I looked closely at my female teammate.

"Don't sell yourself short Yumiko. A good strategy always yields more results in an efficient manner and can bring down even stronger opponents. Looks like I have lost this bet as well." Tsunade looked at all of us and sighed in disappointment

"Don't worry sensei. I am sure you will win someday." Kanao said earnestly

"Thanks, Kanao. Now, the bet was for me to teach you all my super strength. So who wants to learn it?" Tsunade asked curiously

Yumiko and I exchanged a look and we pointed our arms at Kanao.

"Why don't you two want to learn my super strength?" Tsunade asked in surprise

"You are already going to teach me your medical ninjutsu and Yumiko would also like to learn that. Kanao is our taijutsu specialist and he will be the more logical choice since his clan techniques are uniquely similar to your super strength technique." I said

"If you teach it to all of us our team balance will be in jeopardy." Yumiko supported me

"Alright. It seems you three have discussed this amongst yourselves. Meet me here tomorrow morning at the same time. Bye…" Tsunade turned around and began to walk away from us

After we were sure Tsunade was far away from us we pulled ourselves into a group hug and celebrated our victory.

**XXXXXX HOKAGE'S OFFICE XXXXXXX**

"He has improved quite a lot in a short amount of time." Hiruzen commented as he observed the students of Tsunade celebrating their victory through the orb

"After whatever his summons did to heal Varuna his ninjutsu has gone up a notch. Even his sealing chains has become stronger and his ability to construct barriers is at a high level." Mito commented as she observed Varuna through the orb

"Will he be able to host the Nine-tailed fox?" Hiruzen asked

"That demon fox is being of hatred and rage. If I could I would have destroyed that thing but we both know that is impossible. It pains me to even think about handing this thing over to someone else but I know it is necessary." Mito took a deep breath and continued

"Varuna will be able to suppress the Nine-tail's chakra. He is of a level capable to do that but Hiruzen he is far too young to take on the hatred and malice of this demon. I had Hashirama by my side as my guiding light in a sea of darkness." Mito mused with a troubled look as she thought of the troublesome demon sealed within her body

"Many are afraid what will happen now that Lord Hashirama is not here to protect us if the demon escapes. The nine-tail's power is something that everyone fears and last time it came close to destroying our village. Now that there is no wood release user and the Senju clan almost decimated many are fearful of what lies next." Hiruzen sighed in dismay

"Don't worry too much Hiruzen." Mito placated him "Within five years Varuna will be ready to take over the demon. He just needs to familiarize with the sealing methods for a Jinchuriki."

"Are you sure that we don't have to ask Uzushio for a possible Jinchuriki candidate?" Hiruzen asked one more time

"I am sure. Varuna will be able to hold the demon fox." Mito said firmly

"It's decided then. Varuna Uzumaki will be the next host for the nine-tailed demon fox." Hiruzen proclaimed while the person of their interest was ignorant of all these decisions and was happily munching on a dango with his two friends.


	8. A wasted Storm

**MOON MOUNTAIN **

Tendou and Michiru felt the presence of Varuna as their summoner arrived in the mountain.

"It seems he didn't waste any time to return here, Tendou-sama." Michiru observed

"I am not surprised. He is driven to accumulate power as quickly as possible." Tendou mused

"A good trait that we look in our summoner. The previous one was a disappointment who was far too engrossed in making discoveries and studies into the nature of chakra rather than use it for glory." Tendou complained as he thought about Arashi Uzumaki

"He was old by the human standards when he signed the contract Tendou-sama. Perhaps, now that we have a young summoner everything will change." Michiru pointed out and he was very much aware the more martial members of the Rabbit clan were restless. They were getting bored with hunting woodland creatures and other summoning animals

"Go and bring me the scrolls that will be needed for Varuna." Tendou ordered as he felt the chakra signature of Varuna approaching his cave

"As you wish Tendou-sama." Michiru hopped away from the cave

Tendou observed silently as Varuna approached him. He could feel the chakra of Varuna and he was satisfied to sense the chakra has stabilized. It always brought him pride at the abilities of his clan.

"I see that you have come back Varuna. I thought that you would be busy with your missions." Tendou said as he poured himself some sake and began to take some small sips

"I had some free time and I thought that I could use it to learn about Sage Chakra if you can spare the time to teach me." Varuna requested

"I don't mind teaching you about sage chakra. Take a seat." Tendou placed sake away and gave his full attention to Varuna

"The physical body has eight gates strategically placed that regulates chakra flow. Just like that our soul also has a gate. Can you guess where this gate is located?" Tendou asked

"The mind." Varuna answered immediately

"Exactly. Our mind is the bridge between our soul and body." Tendou smiled and asked another question "If the mind is the bridge between soul and body, where do you think the bridge starts from?"

"Mind is the accumulation of our thoughts and imagination. So my best guess is the brain." Varuna answered

"You are partially correct. The mind is connected to the brain but it is also connected to the heart. The soul gives us the energy to be alive and it is to the heart this energy is supplied. Surely you have observed the chakra flow in your own heart with your Byakugan." Tendou said

"I see. So the tenketsu point in the heart is where the Yin and Yang chakra converge together." Varuna mused

"Correct. It is the point where the life energy that allows the body to function originate. But to master the Sage chakra, your heart is irrelevant. What matters is the connection between your mind and brain." Tendou paused as Michiru returned back with several scrolls and handed it over to Varuna

"These scrolls contain the detailed study of the mind and its relationship with the brain. If the mind and its capacity can be physically represented then it would look like this…" Michiru opened a scroll and showed it to Varuna. It was an illustration of a lotus flower with so many small petals.

"This is the inner gate of the soul. The thousand-petaled lotus, we call it. If you want to master the Sage chakra from the Astral plane then imagine your mind as a thousand-petaled lotus that is in the form of a crown that surrounds your head. Each petal serves as a storage space for the Sage chakra that can be drawn from the Astral plane. You must transform your mindscape to reflect this image and that is the first part of your training. " Michiru said as he closed the scroll and handed it over to Varuna

"After you have accomplished this task I will train you to communicate with the Astral plane and then draw energy from it. You may take the scrolls with you but return them once you have completed the first step." Tendou said with a pointed look at the scrolls

"I understand Tendou-sama. I will take good care of the scrolls and return them intact." Varuna said with a respectful bow

"If you have any questions regarding the Sage training you may summon Michiru. He will be able to help you easily." Tendou suggested

"I will keep that in mind Tendou-sama." Varuna nodded and departed the cave with the scrolls

After Tendou was sure Varuna had departed from the mountain he turned to Michiru.

"This is the first time that we are teaching this method to a pure human and I don't know what sort of changes it will bring to his psyche or even his body. Keep a close watch on him and check in with him each day." Tendou ordered and Michiru nodded in agreement

**XXXXXX VARUNA XXXXXXX**

My little trip to the Moon mountain yielded some results but the scrolls that I obtained increased my workload. Thankfully, I had shadow clones to learn ninjutsu which left the original me to concentrate on sealing and the scrolls from the rabbits. Then again all my training had to be done outside the missions that I took with my team and the medical ninjutsu lessons from Tsunade.

One good thing that came out of defeating Tsunade was that my team was now allowed to go on C-rank missions. Most of those missions were about providing escort for the clients and even delivering packages outside the village. So far we had completed 30 D-rank missions and 6 C-rank missions. The fact that our team was lead by Tsunade made the clients specifically asking for our team as she was a student of the Third Hokage.

The popularity certainly helped in making some good contacts even in the Fire Daimyo's court as most of such escort missions were requested by nobles of Fire Nation. While popularity brought us more missions I was sure it would also bring unwanted attention. But the point was moot as we were students of Tsunade and the enemy villages would already have marked us as threats just for the fun of it. I could almost feel an invisible kunai near my throat whenever I thought about the innumerable ninja who might be looking at my profile right now.

Thankfully I was not the only one who was troubled by these new developments. Yumiko had also thought of the ramifications of being the student of a well-known ninja like Tsunade. The Bingo book already had our names and description of our general appearances. Fortunately, there was no concrete information about our abilities but there were speculations. But what scared me the most was the half a million ryo bounty for capturing me alive from Kumo and the million ryo for my poor head by Iwa. I was almost afraid of what Kiri and Suna were about to do as they would also be aware of my existence. I already had the attention of two great shinobi villages and I had yet to do anything noteworthy.

The only one that was happy about the situation we found ourselves in was Kanao. He was over the moon that other villages knew about us and seemed to take personal affront that he had no bounty on his head. Sometimes I think Kanao acted more like Naruto but thankfully my portly friend usually returned back to his normal self quickly enough. I had observed that those with a high amount of Yang chakra usually behaved like a child in sugar rush sometimes. I guess Naruto was an extreme example of this strange phenomenon.

Now that our names were in the Bingo book Tsunade decided that we were ready to have a B-rank mission. It was a mission to clean out some bandits that were camping in the woods near the Black River. It was a mission that I was uncomfortable with. I knew that sooner or later that I would have to kill others for the sake of the village but I had put that thought to the far back of my mind. Now I am faced with the harsh reality if this world and a weight settled on my heart as I jumped through the trees with my team. How the hell am I going to stare into the eyes of a human and kill? I have never even killed an animal in my life and a tremor passed through my body at the thought of what was waiting for me in a few miles. My musings were cut short as I heard Tsunade call my name.

"Varuna, activate your Byakugan and see if we are close to the bandits." Tsunade ordered

I activated my Byakugan and began inspecting the immediate area. Thanks to Hamura's training my Byakugan was rapidly developing and it's range was increasing at a pace faster than before.

"There are three bandits that are acting as scouts 300 meters from our position. The main camp has a total of fifteen people including five female hostages that are chained together inside a tent. Another three of them are nearby scouting out a bridge some 500 meters 10'o clock from the bandit camp." I reported still observing the bandits with my eyes

"That makes everything more easy enough. You three are going to deal with the three scouts." Tsunade said as she stopped on a tree branch and we also stopped moving and I felt the weight that I was feeling increase in my heart

"What do you mean by that?" Yumiko asked with a frightened look

"Bandits suck out the lifeblood of our country by disrupting trade and causing unnecessary damages to the people. If we let one survive they will kill other innocents and that will be our responsibility. We all are a ninja of the Hidden Leaf village and are bound to protect the Fire Nation with our lives if need be. This is the purpose of Shinobi and if you can't serve your nation then you must quit being a ninja." Tsunade said with a hardened stare as she looked into our eyes

"Yes sensei." We chorused robotically

"Good. Then let's go." Tsunade went forward as we followed her closely

Sometime later we were observing one of the scouts under the cover of thick leaves of a tree.

"He is your target Kanao. Deliver the killing blow however you like but it must be a killing blow." Tsunade whispered

"But sensei…I don't think I can do this." Kanao shook with indecision and I wholeheartedly agreed with him but my throat felt dry and no sound of protest came from me

"Mercy, forgiveness, love, understanding, and even the need to protect should all be reserved for our friends, family, comrades and allies. Our enemy only deserve death and if you refuse to do so then I will have no other choice to pull you out of active duty and continue the mission with Yumiko and Varuna. Now you make a choice." Tsunade hissed making Kanao gulp in fear.

I saw my friend arm himself with a kunai in his shaky hand. As the scout came directly under the tree that we were hiding Kanao jumped down on to the bandit's shoulder and plunged the kunai straight into the heart of the bandit. The bandit was about to scream but Tsunade jumped down from the tree and clamped her hand around the bandit's mouth. After a brief struggle, the bandit fell down lifelessly on the floor.

I jumped down from the tree and vomited behind a bush. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I couldn't hear anything except my heartbeat that was speeding up like never before. Yumiko joined me shortly and I could see Kanao doing the same not far from my position. After some time Yumiko helped me to my feet and I held on to her like a magnet. The physical contact helped me and my senses that became numb returned in full force and it was then that I realised I had even forgotten to breathe.

"Sensei, have you killed before?" Yumiko asked tentatively

"Yes." Tsunade answered readily and that made Yumiko frown and look down with a broken look

"There is nothing to be ashamed about and the revulsion you feel is natural. But we are ninja of Konoha and no matter what we must complete every mission to the best of our abilities. Now, stand up and let's complete the mission." Tsunade began walking away and after a minute we also began to follow her

We carefully navigated through the forest and found the second scout who was taking a piss behind a tree.

"At least give the guy some time to the last piss in our world." I joked to lighten the mood but no one laughed and we hid behind some bushes as the guy turned his head to look in our general direction

"Since you are full of jokes why don't you deal with this one?" Tsunade offered snarkily

I gave her a glare but she just shrugged it off and pointed, at the bandit who was getting close to our hiding spot. I took a deep breath and closed off my mind to everything else around me and focused on my target. I jumped out of the bush and ran straight towards the bandit who's hand went for the sword that was strapped to his back. Unfortunately for the guy, I was faster in running and has a much quicker draw. I slid down through the ground and within the blink of an eye I drew the katana I had strapped on my back and cut through the bandit's legs making him fall on his knees. I arrested my forward momentum with my free hand and spun with the katana that sliced through the neck of the bandit. It was a clean-cut and the guy fell down with his head rolling off. I don't know why but this time I didn't vomit on spot but Kanao was once again getting sick while Yumiko was just trembling like a leaf.

"For the sake of the village we Shinobi may be forced to do unspeakable things. We use violence so that our loved ones stay safe in the village." Tsunade said as she patted me on my head lightly and continued

"Shinobi are those who endure for the sake of others in service to our village. A true Shinobi do not seek fame or glory and guard the village with everything they have in any way possible. So when you raise your weapons and launch jutsu against an enemy know that your actions make the village secure." Tsunade said as we began tracking the third scout and this time it was Yumiko's turn

I patted her on the back and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. All for of us hid behind different trees and waited for the scout to appear. My Byakugan was active the whole time keeping track of the scout's movements. Once the guy neared our position I signalled Yumiko. She took out a kunai and threw straight at the scout. The aim was true and the kunai went through the throat of the scout making the guy fall down choking on his own blood.

"Even if our enemy is someone that we hate with all our being we must not let them suffer in death. If possible always give a clean death and release our enemies from suffering to the peaceful embrace of the Pure World." Tsunade looking at the struggling face of the bandit

Yumiko understood what Tsunade was asking her to do. Yumiko moved closer to the fallen bandit and stabbed her kunai straight through the bandit's heart ending his life.

"Good. Are the other three scouts staying nearby the bridge?" Tsunade asked as she looked at me

"Yes. They have not moved from their position." I answered her as I had yet to deactivate the Byakugan

"Very well then. You and Yumiko will take care of those three bandits and return back to find us." Tsunade ordered us and I nodded in understanding as I could see Kanao needed some personal attention from her

I turned to Yumiko who had a poker face despite the situation.

"Let's go." I said as I jumped into the trees and began to travel straight for the bridge. Yumiko quickly caught up with me and I adjusted myself so that she could come closer.

"How do you want to deal with them?" Yumiko asked finally breaking the silence

"We use only ninja tools. No ninjutsu as I suspect we will be in need of our chakra later on." I suggested

"Ok. I will attack them from long range while you engage in close quarters combat." Yumiko offered and I agreed with a nod

"We are almost there." I warned and two more trees later I jumped right into the middle of the small camp the scouts had while Yumiko stayed on top of a tree.

"What the hell…" one of the bandits started but never got to finish as my blade flashed and cut cleanly through his throat and the guy fell down trying in vain to stop the bleeding.

The other two bandits drew their blades and charged at me in their rage. Two shurikens found themselves embedded in their skulls for that effort courtesy of Yumiko. I stabbed all the three bandits through their hearts to ensure their deaths.

"Let's return. I can see some strange movements in the main camp." I said to Yumiko and we both jumped away from the scene with full speed. We later found Tsunade and Kanao close to the bandit camp.

"We dealt with the three scouts near the bridge sensei." I reported as Yumiko and myself rejoined the team

"Excellent. We are going to wait some more before we strike this camp. There is something else going on with this camp and I want to know what." Tsunade said as she continued to observe the bandit camp

"What happened while we were gone sensei?" Yumiko asked as we carefully took positions

"A messenger hawk arrived into the camp and since then there has been a flurry of activity going on. I suspect that they have a backer or an informant and we shall wait as I suspect they are going to show themselves here." Tsunade said and not a moment sooner a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud village stepped into the camp

"Just as I suspected. The bandits are working for the hidden cloud village."Tsunade observed the enemy ninja closely and turned to Varuna with an unreadable look

"What do you think our course of action should be?" Tsunade asked Yumiko which startled her

"Shouldn't you be the one to lead us sensei?" I asked hesitantly

"You three are not planning to be a Genin forever are you?" Tsunade asked rhetorically to which we shook our heads in negative

"Then you will have to lead a team in the future and a unique opportunity has presented itself. So, tell me how you will approach this situation?" Tsunade once again asked

"The Hidden Cloud ninja is unknown to us but hopefully you can neutralize him." Yumiko said hesitantly as she looked at Tsunade who replied with a nod

"Then Varuna can rescue the hostages as he is the fastest among us. He can take them far away with the aid of shadow clones. Meanwhile, I can use my shadow possession jutsu to immobilise as many bandits as possible. Kanao should be able to take care of them and along the way, Varuna can join us." Yumiko explained her plan

Tsunade nodded and turned to Kanao and asked "Do you agree with the plan?"

"Ah…yes sensei." Kanao said as he looked between Yumiko and Tsunade

"What about you? Do you agree with the plan?" Tsunade turned to me and I had the distinct impression that she was not satisfied with Kanao's answer so I took some time to think it over

"As Yumiko said we don't know the abilities of the Hidden Cloud ninja but we can assume he is a lightning style user. Even then it is safe to assume that sensei will be able to defeat him and take him prisoner as our village must know what he is doing this far in the Fire Nation. So, sensei will make the first move and distract the ninja. It is also imperative that we take the bandit leader into custody alive if possible. The rest of the bandits should be dealt with and that can be accomplished by Yumiko's plan. But the hostages are our third priority in this mission. The Kumo ninja and the bandit leader takes precedence because they are a direct threat to village security." I finished my explanation and waited for Tsunade's verdict

"We will proceed with Varuna's plan I will provide the distraction while you three take care of the bandits." Tsunade finally broke the silence as she came to a decision and disappeared via a shunshin

I turned to my friends who were tensed by the situation we found ourselves in. We looked between ourselves to see whether who would take the lead until I decided to just step forward and not waste any more time.

"Yumiko use your shadow possession jutsu to bind the bandits down once they rush towards sensei's position. I will leave a shadow clone with you for your defence in case of any enemy attack." I said as I created a shadow clone who stood near her on the tree branch. I then turned to Kanao who looked determined to do his part. I handed him a sealing scroll which he took with a questioning look.

"While I take care of the bandits you will go straight for the bandit leader. You must knock him out and seal him inside the scroll but make sure he is alive." I explained and Kanao nodded in understanding

We waited a little bit and the ground shook as Tsunade began her assault. I was watching the encounter she had with the Kumo min but contrary to my prediction the Kumo ninja ran away from Tsunade after a brief exchange of ninjutsu. Tsunade chased after the guy but the effect we hoped happened despite the small hiccup in the plan. All the bandits rushed to Tsunade's position brandishing their weapons but she was already gone and the bandit leader was barking orders to pull back his men.

"Yumiko now!!" I said and she immediately started the hand seals

**"Shadow possession jutsu"**

A thin line of shadow extended from her own shadow and began to merge with the shadows of the bandits that she could see. Kanao and I jumped down from our cover and began to make way straight for the bandits. On the way I let Kanao pass as I brandished four kunai and threw them in a single throw. Each of them claimed the lives of bandits that were nearby to my line of sight.

Two bandits that were in the tent rushed out of it straight for Kanao. But my portly friend caught those two with his expanded arm and threw them over his shoulder. I threw two kunai aimed at their skull and by the time they fell behind me their souls were in the Pure World. Kanao had a clean part straight to the bandit leader while three other bandits were spread out in the camp but under Yumiko's jutsu. I unsheathed my katana and jumped over to the three of them and gave them swift deaths. By the time I was done Kanao had the bandit leader secured in the scroll.

"Looks like we have got the bandit leader and his band of misfits are no more. We can now release the hostage." I said to Kanao and just as we were about to do that a huge explosion was heard and we saw smoke rising from the direction Tsunade had chased the Kumo ninja.

"What happened?" Kanao asked me as I looked in the direction of the sound

"I don't know. They must have gone outside the range of my Byakugan." I turned to Kanao "You release the hostages and stay with Yumiko. I will look for sensei." I said as I began running straight towards the site of what was surely a battlefield

**XXXXX **

Tsunade was not particularly enjoying chasing this ninja but other option did she have. There was no way she was going to let go if this Kumo scum waltz in and out of lands under the protection of Konoha. She knew the Kumo ninja was probably leading her to a trap but she didn't care for that right now. If it was any other ninja she would have abandoned this pursuit but she had a bone to pick up with Kumo. After all Kumo ninja were responsible for the death of her uncle Tobirama even after her uncle had tried to establish peace with Kumo. It was not just about her uncle either. So many of her clansmen were targeted and assassinated by Kumo and Iwa. She was not going to waste such an opportunity pay back a little bit. She had her pride as a Senju after all.

Suddenly her senses picked up the crackling of lightning and she immediately made a substitution with a log. She watched as a lightning jutsu pierce through the log from the branch if a tree. Her target had stopped running and turned to her with a smirk.

"You should not have chased after me Senju. It seems one more Senju will fall today." The black haired giant of a man taunted her

"Don't be rude to our esteemed guest like that my friend. She is from a noble clan and we must show her proper respect. At least let her know the names of her killers before she does." another voice butted in and she saw another jump ninja similar in looks to the one that she chased appear on a tree branch

"You are too polite to our enemies cousin but whatever. I am Riyoi Yotsuki, it is good to meet a Senju. Too bad you will be having a short life." Riyoi proclaimed as he took out a Kodachi from its sheath and channelled lightning chakra through the blade

"I am sad to see such a beautiful woman to be removed from this world but duty must come first. I am Shiyoi Yotsuki. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shiyoi introduced himself and immediately after that his hands blurred with hand seals

**"Lightning style Swarm of Hummingbirds Technique"**

Several crackling birds made of lightning formed around Shiyoi and rushed straight for Tsunade. She performed a Shunshin jutsu and escaped from the tree she was standing on and it exploded in a shower of wood after the lightning jutsu impacted it.

She was not going to let these upstarts dominate the fight. Her hands blurred through hand seals

**"Earth Release: Earthen Rising Spears"**

Spears made of stone rose up through the ground and punched through Shiyoi who tried to chase after Tsunade in the wake of the explosion. Tsunade smirked but that quickly turned into a frown as the 'Shiyoi' riddled with stone spears exploded in a shower of lightning that blinded her somewhat.

"gotcha" Riyoi smirked as he stabbed Tsunade through her back with his blade but his smirk disappeared when the 'Tsunade' before him turned out to be an earth clone. He felt two hands grab him on his ankles and drag him down into the earth until only his head was free.

Tsunade jumped up from the ground but she was on guard as Shiyoi fired off a huge lightning blast aimed for her. She was too late to perform an earth style jutsu so she was about to bear the brunt of the attack. As the lightning came closer she felt a familiar presence and voice behind her.

**"Wind Release Dragon spiral sphere"**

A strong sphere of wind surrounded Tsunade protecting her from the lightning blast that was aimed for her. The lightning jutsu flickered into nothing as it was weaker against Wind style jutsu.

"I didn't know that you knew many wind style jutsu." Tsunade asked lightly as she cast a sidelong glance at Varuna

"I didn't. I created this one. I needed some defensive jutsu in my arsenal." Varuna said never taking his eyes off his opponent

"A Byakugan user? Are you a Hyuga? No… I have never seen a Hyuga with red hair." Shiyoi murmured and his eyes widened in recognition

"I see…You are that Uzumaki. Raikage-sama will be pleased when I deliver you alive. Be honoured that you will get to see my Storm release before you serve the needs of Kumo." Shiyoi said as he began gathering a huge amount of chakra and lightning began to flow around him like a fluid

**"Storm Release Lightning flow" **

Reminiscent of a water wave the jutsu came straight for Varuna and Tsunade.

Varuna created a shadow clone quickly and both of the weaved hand seals quickly.

**"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique"**

**"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" **

The fireball that Varuna spat out became enhanced by the wind jutsu that his clone provided. A colossal wave of fire and wind met with the jutsu of Shiyoi and the ground torn apart under the force of the explosion. The trees around them began to burn and smoke quickly covered the area.

Shiyoi decided to use the cover of smoke to perform some more hand seals but he stopped as a whistling sound was heard and he jumped away. His instincts were correct as he saw several shurikens were after him. Again he felt he was in danger and he had to rapidly dodge again and again as a shower of kunai and shuriken rained down upon him. He decided to take matters into his own hand as he rushed out of the smoke and went straight for Varuna. Shiyoi saw a strange glint enter the kid's eye and threw several kunai at him. He scoffed as he dodged to the right but his body became riddled with Kunai and he fell down weakly. He was confused and filled with fear at what happened. He knew the kunai was concentrated on his left but even after he dodged to his right he was clipped by several of them. He tried to take the kunai away but he couldn't move his arms. He couldn't even feel the rest of his body for that matter. In fact, he realised with fear that he couldn't feel any chakra. The last thing he saw was a foot crashing straight on his nose and then blackness.

**XXXXX **

"You managed to subdue a Storm Release user on your own. I am impressed. Although the idiot had it coming when he jumped right into a hail of kunai you threw. That was strange." Tsunade let out a laugh as she replayed the scene in her mind

"I just confused his vision a little bit and the guy jumped straight into the path of my kunai." Varuna shrugged

"You used Genjutsu?" Tsunade asked incredulously

"You could say that." Varuna replied but refused to explain further and Tsunade decided to leave it be as she could later make him spill but now they had to bring these two back to the village

Tsunade knocked out Riyoi and pulled him out of the ground. Varuna applied several resistance seals and sealed away the Kumo ninja's chakra. Varuna did the same for Shiyoi and sealed the two of them in scrolls.

"Why did Shiyoi fall down so easily? Even with the injuries, he sustained the guy should have been able to get up." Tsunade asked as they began to jump through trees to return to the bandit camp

"I laced those kunai with a non-lethal poison. It messes up the chakra moulding ability and decreases the level of oxygen in the bloodstream rapidly. A little gift from my summons." Varuna answered as they jumped through trees

"I would like to see this poison later if you don't mind that is." Tsunade said

"Sure. No problem. Why did you chase after that guy like that? Was it really necessary?" Varuna asked as he looked curiously at her

"It was a mistake. Let's just say I don't like Kumo ninja that much and leave it at that." Tsunade huffed with a dark look but that soon cleared away as they arrived at the bandit camp.

Tsunade and Varuna were immediately assaulted by the relived cries of Kanao and Yumiko.

"What happened out there?" Kanao asked

"What were those huge explosions?" Yumiko asked

"We can discuss that on the way. First, let's get back to the village." Tsunade forestalled any more questions and we began our journey back to the village

**XXXXX HOKAGE'S OFFICE XXXXX**

Hiruzen observed his student and her team closely. He has been hearing some good things about the team from the mission desk. Then again it was not that much of a surprise as the team had a Senju, Uzumaki, Nara and an Akimichi. So it was only natural for the civilian population of the Fire Country to prefer this team. Some of the noble families in the court of the Fire Daimyo actually prefer this team mainly because of the Uzumaki among the team. After all, the Uzumaki family rules the Land of Whirlpools and is one of the strongest allies of the Fire Country since time immemorial. It also helps that the Land of Whirlpools is the hub of sea trade that lets the Fire Country access to distant lands. The alliance between the two nations has always provided the Fire Country an economic edge over the other great nations.

Right now all of that was irrelevant to the matter at hand. It was impressive for a Genin team to take down one bandit camp along with two experienced Shinobi. Even if Tsunade and Varuna took down the two ninjas the team effort was exceptional. But he was not all that happy with Tsunade for running off on her own and being led into a trap. He had an inkling why she did that and that made him sigh in disappointment as he had expected better from her.

So after Tsunade explained everything that happened he was impressed that they managed to return in one piece and without any casualty. He also agreed with Tsunade's assessment of the situation and the need to capture the Kumo ninjas and the bandit leader. All things considered, the mission was a success.

"Good job all of you. I will require a detailed report from each one of you by tomorrow on my desk. You are all dismissed except you Tsunade." Hiruzen dismissed the others and watched them shuffle away shooting glances at Tsunade

"I lost my cool in the mission. Sorry, Sensei." Tsunade apologized after her students left the office

"I was actually happy when you took a team and hoped that it would instil some responsibility in you. You do realize that your stunt may have caused serious harm to your students." Hiruzen admonished her sternly

"Yes sensei and it will not happen again. I will be more vigilant from now on." Tsunade promised

"Good. You may take a few weeks of leave. Your mother will appreciate your presence in these trying times." Hiruzen suggested

"Thank you sensei. There was just one more thing." Tsunade said before she turned to leave

"Do go on." Hiruzen prompted

"I recommend Varuna Uzumaki to be promoted to the rank of Chunin." Tsunade said taking Hiruzen by surprise

"That is a little too early don't you think?" Hiruzen asked uncertainly

"Varuna is skilled in almost all forms of ninja arts. His fire style ninjutsu is strong and he has mastery over wind style as well even though he creates wind jutsu on his own. His seals are uncanny which is not much of a surprise as he is an Uzumaki. He is very proficient with Kunai, Shuriken and Kenjutsu. Above all, he can keep a calm head in any situation and lead others without any stress. He is worthy of the rank." Tsunade explained

"What about his apprenticeship under you, Tsunade?" Hiruzen asked

"He can continue that even after becoming a Chunin." Tsunade shrugged

"There might be some conflict of interest regarding that Tsunade." Hiruzen said as he lit his pipe and began to smoke

"I don't understand." Tsunade looked confused

"You do know that Varuna is the prime candidate to be the next Jinchuriki and I was hoping to induct him into ANBU." Hiruzen said as he turned his back and looked out the window of his office

"But he is too young to be in ANBU. Also, why would you need him to be in ANBU of all places? Granny Mito can hold back the Kyubi just fine and I am sure Varuna can as well." Tsunade argued

"I know Varuna will be able to hold down the Biju down. But that is no longer enough. Other villages have started to train their Jinchuriki to use the powers of the demon sealed within them. We must do the same or else Konoha will become weak. With more training, I am hoping Varuna will be able to control the nine-tailed fox and use its power for the good of the village." Hiruzen said as he turned to Tsunade and continued

"So, are you sure he is ready to be Chunin?" Hiruzen asked as he took a puff

"Yes, I am. But I am not sure how he can continue to be apprenticed under me if you are set on drafting him into ANBU." Tsunade mused as she scratched her chin

"Perhaps that can be arranged. It was not my idea to draft him into ANBU in the first place. Danzo and Kagami have been insistent on this course of action but I can decrease Varuna's exposure to ANBU life under the pretext of taking medical ninjutsu lessons from you." Hiruzen said with a growing smile

"They might not be happy about that but it might work." Tsunade agreed

"In that case, I will consider promoting Varuna to Chunin but only after I go through the report tomorrow." Hiruzen said and chuckled at the face Tsunade was making

"It is not because I don't trust your judgement Tsunade. It is a standard procedure and it cannot be disregarded even for you Tsunade-hime." Hiruzen explained and Tsunade left his office with a huff making him chuckle

Now that he was once again alone there was still the matter of assigning Varuna to a squad in ANBU. At first, he had thought of assigning Varuna to Danzo. But lately, his friend and long time rival have become too much immersed in Root and it's activities. It was for this reason that his thought went to his fellow teammate.

"ANBU, summon Koharu Utatane to my office. It seems I may have found a candidate for her team." Hiruzen ordered

"Yes sir." an ANBU member came out of his hiding place and disappeared silently to carry out the order of his kage


	9. Nawaki, you little tyke

**XXXXX KONOHA XXXXX**

"Hokage-sama, sorry for the delay." Koharu knelt before her Kage

"At ease my friend. You may remove the mask." Hiruzen said with a wave of his hand and watched as his teammate stood up and removed her mask

"Why have you summoned me Hiruzen?" Koharu asked as she relaxed a little seeing as Hiruzen was not using his 'Hokage' voice

"I have a possible candidate for your ANBU team. I want you to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses and induct him into your squad." Hiruzen said

"That is unorthodox. Usually, ANBU captains make decisions regarding their respective teams and I know you won't interfere without a strong reason. So, why?" Koharu asked curiously

"I want you to induct Varuna Uzumaki into your team." Hiruzen said startling Koharu

"Are you serious?" Koharu asked incredulously and after sometime, she realised her friend was not joking

"I am serious. Before you make any decision let me explain." Hiruzen continued at Koharu's nod

"As you know Varuna Uzumaki is confirmed to be the next Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox. As such it was suggested to me that early exposure to ANBU life might help him to draw out the chakra of the demon fox." Hiruzen explained

"Who came up with this brilliant plan?" Koharu asked sarcastically and personally, she wanted to hit whoever came up with the clever idea of pushing children into ANBU life. There was a reason Tobirama-sensei placed age restrictions for ANBU recruitment.

"Danzo did and Kagami supported it." Hiruzen answered with a sigh

"Of course those two are behind this." Koharu muttered under her breathe and then turned to glare at Hiruzen

"What makes you think joining ANBU will help Uzumaki-san to channel the chakra of the demon fox? You do know the nature of ANBU life. Do you really want to push a child that is barely twelve into this kind of life? Konoha was formed to avoid this kind of situations by our Sensei and Hashirama-sama." Koharu asked heatedly

"I know that, which is why Varuna will not be a full-time ANBU member. Tsunade will be taking him as an apprentice soon enough and that will split the time of Varuna with ANBU duties and the hospital. I just want him to be more disciplined and in control of his emotions." Hiruzen said

"You do know that Danzo's ideas have a penchant for blowing up in our faces in the long run. I admit Uzumaki-san will be a great boon for any team but I am still not convinced if he will be able to handle the strain of ANBU operations at this young age." Koharu folded her hands and huffed

"Mito-sama often said that the Kyubi is a mass of chakra with hatred and malice weaved into its existence. So any attempt to draw out its chakra will make the person succumb to hatred and darkness. There is no Jinchuriki training that we know of as this is a new concept altogether. We are in the dark as are the rest of the hidden villages with a biju but I am hopeful that Varuna's bloodline will aid him greatly in extracting the Kyubi's chakra." Hiruzen sighed as he looked at the unconvinced looks that his friend was shooting him

"You are the only person that I can trust that will consider Varuna as a child in the ANBU. Danzo wanted to train the boy and I nearly caved in as they are both Wind Style users. But I think Varuna will benefit more from working as your subordinate." Hiruzen said and he believed he chose the right person for this job. In his opinion what Varuna needed was not more flashy jutsu but the ability to lead, gain experience under varying situations, sharpen all aspects of ninja arts and finally find himself in the process. The kid had power in spades and he could feel the undercurrent of strength that Varuna possessed. Hiruzen just needed the kid to refine that strength and use it as a sharp instrument rather than a blunt one. He was broken out of his thoughts as Koharu spoke

"Fine. I will take the kid into the team under the condition that I am satisfied with the kid's performance so far. Being an ANBU requires a certain skillset after all." Koharu finally conceded

"I think you won't be disappointed Koharu." Hiruzen smiled and handed her a file on Varuna Uzumaki.

As she flipped through the file her eyes widened and looked incredulously at Hiruzen who's smile had grown and he raised an eyebrow smugly. Koharu nodded sharply and continued to read the file with more interest.

"So when can I expect Uzumaki-san. I do need to test him myself to determine his role in the squad." Koharu asked absently as she ran her eyes through the report page by page

"Tsunade's team is in a two-week-long mission. By that time I will be able to find a third member for Tsunade's team and after that, you can take over." Hiruzen said

"Very well then." Koharu absently said still engrossed in the report.

**XXXXX VARUNA XXXXX**

With Tsunade taking an extended leave because of her mother's pregnancy I had hoped to spend some time with the rabbit clan to master the sage chakra but that plan went out of the window when the team was activated again and hired by the Senju clan to help with the pregnancy. There was not that much work to be done and my shadow clones were more than enough to deliver any supplies to the house. Yumiko and Kanao were charged with guarding Tsuyoshi-san while Tsunade and several midwives helped take care of the pregnant woman. The village itself was on high alert due to the approaching birth of a new Senju.

In a way, I could certainly understand the elevated emotions of everybody in Konoha. This birth signalled a new era for the village and an omen of a new beginning. The Senju clan was very much respected in Konoha and Nawaki's birth was something that the village would celebrate exuberantly. Everyone knew that it was because of the self-sacrifice of the Senju clan that the village and the people were still standing in one piece. After all the Hidden Leaf was at war with other four great villages and came out on top even if two Hokages died to achieve such a victory. At this point, Konoha citizens saw the Senju brothers as their kings and their descendants as little princes and princesses. It was one of the reasons why Tsunade is usually addressed like a princess in Konoha and even abroad.

Anyway, one good thing did come off from staying with the Senju clan. I managed to rope in Orochimaru to train me in Wind Jutsu. Seeing as Orochimaru was a steady visitor of Tsuyoshi-san I managed to persuade him to give me some pointers.

The Orochimaru I know now and the one from the anime are completely different. Interacting with this guy I realised why this ninja was favoured by Hiruzen Sarutobi out of his three students so much. Orochimaru is brilliant, resourceful, driven and there was that iron will to succeed no matter what. There is also the fact that he was a very good teacher. The only reason I could think why Orochimaru turned out to be a raving lunatic is because of his exposure to the war and Danzo. At least so far I did not have to deal with Danzo and his mad plans to become Hokage.

Towards the end of the first week of this mission, I was summoned to the Hokage's office and he dropped a bomb so to speak. After everything was said and done I was in a trance and I decided to spend some time alone. Inevitably I found myself on the cliff overlooking the village with the stone faces carved on it.

**_"Why are you struggling to accept what has happened Varuna? It was only logical for your Hokage to choose you as the next Jinchuriki." Hamura spoke from within my mind_ **

"What do you mean?" I asked confused

**_"You have the power to suppress the tailed-beast chakra and you are proficient with seals. That makes you an ideal Jinchuriki." Hamura pointed out casually_ **

"But don't you understand what this will cause. The entire timeline will get butchered beyond repair. With me becoming a Jinchuriki Kushina will not arrive at Konoha. That means Naruto will not be born and without him, there will be no peace in the Shinobi world." I panicked as I thought about the ramifications that this will cause

**_"While it's true that some events may change due to your presence I had never thought you were to be this naïve Varuna." Hamura said and I could feel that he was radiating disappointment _**

"What do you mean?" I asked

**_"Do you really think that Naruto alone was responsible for the peace that was created in the aftermath of the war? No, Varuna. Peace was established because the Shinobi shared pain, they all suffered together. They fought against a common enemy that built comradeship between the five great nations. They were ready to accept peace because they suffered the cruelties of war together. In the end, Nagato's way of thinking is the realistic one." Hamura said with a sigh_ **

"So you are saying that peace is purely fictional?" I asked incredulously struggling to come to terms with the fact that Hamura Otsutsuki didn't believe in peace

**_"I am saying war is part of nature. One cannot discard a part of nature and embrace only the parts that you find to your liking. Everything is cyclical in nature. Light and Darkness, Love and Hate, Day and Night, Strength and Weakness, Victors and Losers. One cannot exist without the other as they give meaning to each other." Hamura said_ **

"So Madara was right. The only way people will stop fighting is through recreating this world from the foundations." I muttered

**_"Madara has confused peace with quiet. Don't fall into such silly thoughts Varuna. Don't be foolish to think a single person can bring about world peace no matter how powerful or influential that person maybe." Hamura took a deep breath and continued "What I am saying is that you need not worry about the future or the supposed people that should exist. The future is not set on stone and there is no such thing as fate. You must live your life and execute your duties to the best of your abilities. In the end, that's all that matters." _**

"But…What if my actions just cause more misery and death? What if there will be no end to wars that are fought between the great five villages? What should I do?" I asked dejectedly

**_"Do you want the Shinobi to stop the pointless wars that they start?" Hamura finally asked fed up with the depressive attitude of his descendant_ **

"Yes." I answered readily

**_"Then make sure you make the Second and Third Shinobi world wars as bloody as possible. Inflict as much pain as you can to your enemies and when the time comes become the Hokage." Hamura advised coldly_ **

"I don't understand. Why are you of all people advocating more violence?" I asked in surprise after I heard his advice

**_"I am not as naïve as I was in my younger years Varuna. I have seen many worlds and chakra or no chakra mankind will never change." Hamura let out a sigh and continued, "My brother was naïve when he thought that chakra will be the answer to peace. The truth is there is no final answer to peace. Peace is an ideal situation that is best left achieved for the progress of society and natural order." _**

"I don't understand." I whispered

**_"Let me put it this way. Assume that all the carnivorous animals in the world decided to stop hunting other animals and decided to live peacefully with their fellow animals. In this scenario what do you think will happen?" Hamura posed his question_ **

"The whole ecosystem will crumble and life will be left unchecked." I answered hesitantly

**_"Exactly. Similarly, if mankind decides to abandon several aspects of themselves in a vain attempt to bring 'peace' they will be merely signing their own death warrants. So my advice is to let things happen as it is. You have the knowledge of the future and if you have the power and desire to change some aspects of it then go for it. The important thing is, what can you contribute to bring about cooperation between Shinobi villages? Do you want to or are you willing to leave such a task to a boy that may or may not exist in this timeline? If you can find the answers to these two questions then your fears about the future will vanish." Hamura said and then he cut off the mental connection_ **

Hamura's words cut straight to the crux of the problem. The fact of the matter is that I was actually hoping for Naruto to do all the 'saving the world' thing. I didn't have the luxury to take on herculean tasks like that especially when I was already burdened with several difficult tasks. I was far back in the past and war was right around the corner. I had no idea whether I will be about to even survive as there are too many super-powered shinobi lying around in spades at this time. With all these things to worry about I at least expected the universe to cut me slack but it seems to pile more problems into my full plate. I decided that if the Universe wanted to fuck with me then I won't leave it in peace as well. Besides, there was no point in fretting over what was happening. I cannot influence the decisions made by the Hokage or the council. So I came to a decision to just go with the flow and see where the current leads me.

After my conversation with Hamura and some self reflection I decided to take a stroll through the village and return to the Senju clan compound. On the way I visited the weapons shop to buy more kunai and shuriken. It was there that I happen to cross paths with Hiro Aburame and Asuna Yamanaka. After catching up with those two while having a short lunch I returned back to the Senju clan compound. I found my two teammates engaged in a discussion with Tsunade and they immediately noticed me as I closed the door behind me.

"Varuna, what happened?" Yumiko asked the moment she saw my face

"I have been promoted to Chunin and drafted into ANBU." I said sullenly as I dropped down into the chair next to Kanao

"What? But why? You are too young to be in ANBU. I remember reading about a law that was passed by Lord Second in the Academy that placed age restrictions for ANBU recruitment. I think it was exclusive to sixteen or above club." Yumiko looked earnestly at Tsunade

"I am a special case. Hokage-sama ordered me to join the ANBU, Yumiko. As a shinobi of Konoha, I cannot disobey the orders of my leader." I shrugged helplessly

"But what about our team. Without you, we will be one member short. Surely Hokage-sama know that, right?" Kanao asked Tsunade

"We will most likely be provided with a new member to take his spot." Tsunade said easily despite the glares that Yumiko and Kanao were shooting at her

"But why force him into ANBU. He doesn't even want to be an ANBU tight?" Kanao asked uncertainly as he looked at me inquiringly and I nodded slowly.

"You better tell them the reason. They are not going to let this go by the looks of it." Tsunade advised me with a serious look and making my two friends looking at me in confusion

I sighed and decided to fill them in. After all, I was not ordered to keep it a secret.

"Do you guys remember when we learned about the first conference of the Five Kage Lord Hashirama distributed the tailed beasts as a peace offering?" I asked

"Yes. But what that has to do with this problem?" Yumiko asked

"Everything." I squared myself and began to fill them in, "When lord Hashirama fought Madara Uchiha, he was forced to fight the nine-tailed fox. The only way to ensure the demon fox would never again target the leaf village was to seal it away for good. But tailed-beasts can only be sealed for an indefinite amount of time in humans. Kyubi being the strongest of its brethren only an Uzumaki can host it. Thus Mito-sama became the first Jinchuriki of the demon fox. Now that she is old and there is a chance of the demon escaping its prison I am obliged to be the next Jinchuriki as per the alliance between Uzumaki clan and Konoha. So I am being drafted into ANBU and it is supposed to help me control the Kyubi or so they say."

After I was finished with my tale the room descended into silence. Yumiko was deep in thought while Kanao was shooting me some pitying looks.

"So who is your team captain?" Tsunade asked breaking the silence

"Koharu Utatane." I answered and Tsunade whistled in appreciation

"You know her sensei?" Kanao asked as he turned his attention from me

"She was uncle Tobirama's student. It seems your luck has not completely abandoned you. She is one of the moderate members of ANBU besides you will be spending some time with me in the hospital. You are still my apprentice." Tsunade reminded me which made me perk up a little bit

"There is no problem with that?" I asked curiously

"I mean I will be happy to work with you in the hospital but won't that interfere with ANBU schedule." I quickly added as I was on the receiving end of Tsunade's glare

"Don't you worry about that. I will work something out with Koharu-san." Tsunade assured me

I was not sure how Tsunade will be able to work something out with Koharu but I hoped Tsunade manage to reform some miracle. I didn't want to be an ANBU and never saw that as a career aspect.

Anyhow, with my impending entry into ANBU life, I made sure to spend more time in training my wind jutsu. I have no idea how ANBU training works and I doubt there will be a lot of time spent on individual training. So that means my training with Vajra has been pushed back again. I had tried to train the weapon with Shadow clones but the weapon was consuming too much chakra. So the clones just popped whenever they channelled chakra into the thing. The only thing that I knew so far about the weapon was that it has the ability to absorb ninjutsu or at the very least Katon jutsu. I found out about that when my shadow clones were training with the weapon. I had asked Tsunade to search the archives of Senju clan about Vajra but so far there was no luck. It seems I will have to go for trial and error method or scourge the Uzumaki clan's library in Uzu.

Days began to blur by and we were all on edge as my scans with Byakugan revealed that Tsuyoshi-san was very much ready to give birth. Just to be on the safe side I began erecting as many barriers as I could around the Senju clan compound. In addition to that when Tsuyoshi-san's water broke I used the Adamantine chains to erect another barrier inside her room. Mito-sama admonished me for being overly paranoid but only I knew that freak Madara was still alive. I was not leaving anything to chance until I see that madman and his black plant companion with a hard-on for his millennia-old mummy scattered to ashes to the four corners of the world. The only one that supported my enthusiasm in providing more security was Hanako-san. The poor guy was sweating bullets and being a general nuisance to Tsuyoshi-san with his antics of bringing her fluffy dolls every minute. I looked incredulously at Mito-sama and I think I have never seen her this embarrassed. Finally, she called it quits and asked me to lock out Hanako-san from the barriers. I could still hear his choked sobs from outside the barriers.

Thankfully my precautions seem to have been for nothing as Tsunade took Nawaki into her hands. I began to apply medical ninjutsu to heal any post strain or pain that may affect Tsuyoshi-san readily and ease her into the bed. The birthing process was a success and Nawaki Senju was born. Tsunade and Mito-sama along with some of their aids began cleaning the babe while I was helping Tsuyoshi-san.

"Is he alright? Can I see him?" Tsuyoshi asked tiredly

"Please rest for a while Tsuyoshi-san. Little Nawaki is alright. From the looks of it, he is going to be a strong kid." I managed to make her lie down and I was not making anything up. I was observing Nawaki closely with my active Byakugan. The kid has strong chakra similar to an Uzumaki.

"Thank you for being here Varuna." Tsuyoshi smiled tiredly

"I wouldn't be anywhere else. Do remember that I am the first one to see the kid even if he was within you. So, when he grows up just let me teach him jutsu. It would be the least that I could do for this family that took care of me when I was a newbie in Konoha." I said with a smile

"Why would my little brother have to learn from you when he has an awesome and powerful sister." Tsunade butted in as she took an arrogant pose

"Oh knock it off Tsunade. Let Nawaki-chan have some peace and quiet." Mito-sama scolded her and shot a warning look at me which made me shut up as well. She placed the babe near Tsuyoshi-san and we watched as the mother and child cuddle together. It was truly a wonderful moment and I was truly happy and in joy. I think I now know why some doctors specialise in Obstetrics and Gynecology. There was no other job in the world that could give this sort of satisfaction. It was truly an honour to be the guiding hands behind the safe birth of an innocent life form. The only word I could use to describe this moment is divine.

I was broken out of my musings when Tsuyoshi-san gasped and pointed at me making the others also turn towards me. I saw their eyes widen in disbelief. I looked at them confused by as I was sure there was nothing behind me. It was then that I got it making me frown at them.

"I am not going to fall for that silly trap. You can't fool me like that. You do know that I have the Byakugan and can see in all directions?" I asked them sarcastically. Seriously, did these three women forgot about my abilities. Perhaps they thought that acting in this exact moment may have worked on me. I snorted at that.

"Varuna… Your eyes…. They are different." Tsunade managed to stutter out and the other two agreed with a dumb nod still looking at me in fascination

I immediately turned to the mirror that was nearby and was struck speechless at what I saw. Spinning eerily in my eyes was a silver-white flower pattern. There was no doubt in my mind, somehow I have awakened Tenseigan or at least a version of it. I was sure this was not the full deal because I was not feeling any overwhelming godlike powers.

"Tenseigan (Eye of Reincarnation)." I whispered absently as I started at it with unrestrained fascination.

**_"You are correct. This is not the complete form of Tenseigan. It seems your physique is enough to summon the ocular powers of the Tenseigan to the forefront all on your own. I was correct to put my trust in you Varuna. You are on the right track. We will speak again soon after I have thought things through." Hamura said and then he fell silent_ **

I was broken out of the stupor when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I cut off the chakra flow into my eyes and turned to find Mito-sama behind me.

"Strange things keep happening around you Varuna." Mito-sama commented with a snort

"But this time I didn't do anything and it just happened." I shrugged helplessly

"It's a good thing that you joined the ANBU. Otherwise, I don't think the Hyuga clan would just let you go free. They would fight tooth and nail to make you one of theirs." Mito-sama patted my shoulder

"We can talk about me later. Let's just focus on Nawaki and Tsuyoshi-san." I said diffusing the situation

In the end, everyone agreed it was better to never speak about my new set of eyes. Thankfully, that made me avoid unnecessary headaches for a while. But now that Tsuyoshi-san has delivered Nawaki the mission has been concluded. So in the evening me and my friends along with Tsunade found ourselves in the Hokage's office to deliver the mission report.

"Well, that concludes your mission to guard and aid the pregnant wife of the Senju clan head. Your mission pay will be automatically transferred to your account." The Hokage said as he observed us closely from behind his desk

"What about me Lord Hokage?" I asked

"Fox" the Hokage called and a fox masked ANBU appeared before the Hokage and knelt

"Take Varuna Uzumaki to ANBU HQ. I believe he is being expected there." Hiruzen said and the ANBU silently put his hand on my shoulder and we both vanished in a Shunshin jutsu. Just before I was plucked away I heard Tsunade promised to inform my mother about my new area of work. In all the hassle that was going on, I completely forgot about informing mother. She is going to punch me in the face for this, I thought as I was whisked away.

A few minutes later after running through a few rooftops, I reached the ANBU HQ. For one the building was far away from the all the hustle of the village and obviously camouflaged by a sea of thick trees covered in leaves. It was a one storey building and plain looking. In fact, if I was not being escorted here by an ANBU guard of the Hokage I would have seriously doubted that this would be the building.

"You can enter the building instead of staring a hole through it you know." Fox commented and he vanished leaving me all alone.

I squared my shoulders and pushed the doors open and was greeted by a plain room with a door on the other side and a counter on my immediate right. I saw someone sitting behind the counter who was wearing a mask of the eagle.

"Excuse me, I was asked to report here. I am a new recruit." I said after I knocked on the counter

"Submit your identification." Eagle said and I handed over my ninja id

"Your ID will be returned after you return from your assignment. You must leave all your personal belongings in your locker and take these…" Eagle handed me the standard ANBU uniform along with a sword and sheath

I took the gear and walked to the locker room which Eagle-san was kind enough to point out. After changing into the ANBU gear which involved a rabbit mask, black pants with bandages that secured it tightly on my ankles, a shoulderless black shirt, a pair of fingerless gloves, a protective armour that went over my black shirt, a sword fastened on my back and finally open pair of open ninja sandals. I then secured my Kunai and Shuriken pouches on my thighs and waist. The only thing that was not black on my body right now was my skin, my hair, the bandages on my ankles and the rabbit mask. I locked the locker after putting all my personal items and then returned back to the front desk to find three ANBU waiting for me. They wore Rat, Otter and Dog masks.

"You are all dressed up. Let's go." the Rat masked ANBU said who was obviously a woman and I followed after the three as they led me out of the HQ. We began running over the roofs of all the buildings of the village making a beeline for the large wooden walls. We began climbing the wall and we were out of the village within minutes and now we were jumping through trees. From the direction we were going I estimated that we were going in the direction of the Fire Country's capital.

"So what exactly is the mission?" I asked

"Not far from Konoha there is a small settlement of civilians. There is a man named Hifune who is our target. Hifune is an accessory for transferring coded messages to Kumo. Our mission is to kill him and his entire family. Any questions?" Rat asked as we continued to jump through the trees

"But, aren't we forbidden from taking action against civilians of Fire Nation without the approval of Daimyo? Also, why kill his entire family?" I asked uneasily as it never sat well with me how easy my new team captain just ordered the deaths of innocents

"Hifune and his family will be dying of an uncontrollable fire in their home. Hifune-san sealed his fate and that of his family when he colluded with Konoha's enemies. We would have let his family live but our target is an influential merchant in the capital. That makes his family a potential threat for Konoha and we will not let a threat fester." Rat said coldly and I stopped any further queries

We reached the small settlement but be that time night had come. We took discrete positions around the village and looked out for a brown-haired man with black eyes and a dimple on the right side of his nose.

"There is no point in wasting more time to look for the guy. Rabbit, scan the are for our target." Rat ordered and I immediately activated my Byakugan and began scanning for the guy. I was a little curious how the Tenseigan will work and decided to push more chakra into my eyes and the world became more defined and crystal clear. Within seconds of activating the Tenseigan, I found the target easily and quickly. It seems the Tenseigan have an automatic tracking ability that just tracked anything that is projected to the forefront of the mind of the wielder.

"I found him. He is in a house three o'clock from our position. The one with red roof." I reported and we began to jump over several roofs and observed the house in question

"The target is inside the basement captain. It seems there is a false door beneath the dining room. The wife seems to be in a hurry and is packing valuables into a bag and there are two children fast asleep in their rooms adjacent to the dining room." I reported readily but as I looked closer I spotted something more

"Captain, the wife seems to have well-developed chakra coils. She is definitely not a civilian." I added quickly

"Which level would you rank her?" Rat asked

"High chunin." I answered readily

"This changes the mission parameters captain. If a fight breaks out we won't be able to control the scene." Dog mused

"It doesn't matter. We can still complete the mission but with a small change. We will be taking the wife alive." Rat then turned to all of us and began to assign us our positions

Otter was tasked with knocking out Hifune and securing everything from the basement. Dog was tasked to take the children hostage to draw out the wife's attention meanwhile Rat subjugate the target's wife with non-lethal attacks. I was assigned to be the lookout and backup for Rat in case she failed to subjugate the target's wife. Thankfully the mission went off without a hitch while I observed my new team at work from a safe distance.

Rat managed to subdue the undercover ninja when Dog used her children as hostages. Otter quickly collected all the valuables from the basement and appeared in the living room with the unconscious body of our target. Dog and Otter locked the children and Hifune inside the building and then set it on fire. We stayed back for some time to make sure they died and then we began the journey back to the village. All the while I got the sinking feeling that these types of missions were going to be the norm from now on.

After briefing the Hokage about the mission and handing over the prisoner to the T department my team returned back to the HQ. I was already late too much so I hurried to change back into my normal attire. My other teammates were also back to their normal attire within minutes and were waiting for me outside the HQ.

"Let us introduce ourselves to our newest member. I am Koharu and the captain of this team." Rat or rather Koharu introduced herself and motioned for the other two to do the same

"I am Nozomi Hatake otherwise known as Otter. I have heard a lot about you from my cousin Takashi. It's good to meet you in person Uzumaki-san." Nozomi gave a small smile and I was struck speechless as I never expected to see a female Hatake. Moreover, she looked like a goddess with the standard silver hair of the Hatake clan and God those curves. I shook myself out of those thoughts. God, I hope I am not going to turn into a pervert like Jiraiya to cope with the Shinobi life.

"No need to call me Uzumaki-san. It makes me feel really old. All of you may call me Varuna." I said and I did not say that to be polite or anything. I genuinely hated anyone calling me 'Uzumaki-san' as that made me remind me of my real age.

"I am Hikari Madarame. You may call me Hikari and as you have probably deduced I am 'Dog'." Hikari shook hands with me with a wink

"Now that introductions are over you may return to your homes." Koharu waved dismissively and began to walk away from us and stopped suddenly

"Oh, I almost forgot that tomorrow we will be having a training session. I need to know the skillset of our newest member to properly plan strategy in other missions. This one had no risks but we will not be lucky every time." With that said Koharu vanished in a Shunshin jutsu

"I guess we will see you tomorrow Varuna-kun." Nozomi winked and disappeared behind the trees

"See you tomorrow." Hikari also jumped away into the trees and disappeared from my vicinity

They didn't even let me formally introduce myself, I thought. With nothing else to do, I made a beeline for my home. I hope mom has gone to sleep because I really didn't want to strike up a conversation now. Instead, I would be happy to fall right into my fluffy bed and forget about the three souls that died on my watch.

**_AUTHOR'S__ NOTE_:**

**I can see that nobody liked the name of the mc and I kind of understand why. Be that as it may, when I first started this story I merely wanted to find a cool name and I tried to come up with several names. Unfortunately, none of them came close to the level of Madara, Indra etc. So I chose the name of God that sounded 'cool' in English. I never knew that such a name may sound weird in the Japanese language. Sorry about that.**

**Anyway, my naming of the mc may have proved to be a boon in the long run as I now have a rough idea to integrate some gods into the mix. But don't worry this will only happen when I finish this story and start the second part of the plot which will concentrate on the origins of the Otsutsuki clan.**

**Don't worry about Kushina. You guys will be surprised how I am going to introduce her into the mix. I think 'Varuna' is going to be shocked as well. As for Kushina-Minato pairing, I have to say that is a complicated matter. So far I am not sold on the idea to have that same pairing but I will look onto that possibility. I was hoping another pairing for Kushina. Don't ask, I won't spill the beans but it is not Varuna for sure.**

**I would like to clarify that there will be no Tsunade pairing. I am sticking with Tsunade as a sister figure for Varuna and changing that will be really awkward at this juncture. The truth is I have not thought about any pairings for Varuna. My original plan was for him to be engaged in a political marriage. But I am open to suggestions.**

**Right now the best possible pairings are;**

**1) Asuna Yamanaka**

**2) Yumiko Nara**

**3) Nozomi Hatake**

**4) Pakura of Sand (will be introduced in the future, possibly in the third great shinobi war)**

**5) An Uzumaki from Uzu after their fall**

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the story so far and thanks for all your reviews. Many of them helped a great deal in shaping the story so far. Thank you.**


	10. A mission to Tea country

**XXXXX VARUNA XXXXX**

I concentrated and poured medical ninjutsu chakra through my hand to heal my patient. Thankfully the patient in question had only minor injuries but I could see small scratches on her ankle bones with my Byakugan.

"Will my daughter be alright?" Aika-san asked as she hovered around her daughter in concern

"Don't worry Aika-san. Aimi-chan will be alright. I have already healed the small wounds along her legs but she will have to use a cast for her leg as there are some small scratches to her bones." I said gently

"Can I go and play at the park mama? I promised my friends that I will play ninja with them." Ami asked in her squeaky voice

"You are not going anywhere young lady. I won't have you jump off rooftops to play ninja and be injured again." Aika said sternly as she stared a hole through her daughter who looked to me trying to avert her gaze

"But I saw ninja-san jump through the rooks the other day and ninja-san usually comes to our shop by jumping down from our shop's roof. Why can't I do that?" Ami huffed as she stared defiantly into her mother's eyes

"Don't you start with that again young lady. I will be having words with your 'ninja-san' the next time I see him. I will show him what I can do with a frying pan in my hand." Aika smacked her fist in her palm with a mean look.

Ami looked at her mother incredulously as she doubted her mother could hurt ninja-san. After all, her papa had said that ninja-san was super strong.

"Do you want to be a ninja Ami-san?" I asked her curiously

"Yes. I want to be like ninja-san and save good people from evil people." Ami declared boldly with a happy smile

"Good ninjas must also obey their parents Ami-chan. After all, ninja-san is a hero and heroes cannot be bad boys and girls now can they?" I smiled at Ami who had scrunched up her face in deep thought and slowly nodded reluctantly

"Good. Now be a good girl and obey your mother. No more jumping from rooftops until you are a ninja alright!" I looked deep into Ami's eyes until she reluctantly nods showing her consent

"Don't remove the cast for one week and after that bring her here for a final check-up." Varuna said to Aika and began to apply the cast to Ami's leg. After that was done he moved to other patients and there was a long list of them in the ward.

After dealing with a long list of patients I relaxed into the seat of Tsunade's office and began to make a list of medicinal supplies the hospital needed. My work in the hospital was to replace Tsunade when she took leave from the hospital for weekends. That doesn't mean that I was asked to deal with serious cases. I was only responsible for civilian patients as I have less experience in dealing with more complicated medical procedures like drawing out poison, surgery using chakra scalpels etc. Besides, I would only be dealing with such cases after I have gained more experience in the hospital.

Hashirama Senju was the driving force behind the ninja hospital of Konoha. The hospital staff was made up of retired shinobi and those with very low chakra reserves for field duty. The hospital was one of the most profitable institutions directly under the control of Hokage. Seeing as it has a constant influx of civilian patients the hospital was well above in profit margins even in this economic depression. In fact, all ninja of Konoha are given free services so long as they are active in field duty. Even clients from the capital travel here for special treatments. Foreign clients are also allowed in but only after a thorough background checkup done by ninja of Konoha.

My own time spent in the hospital made me realise that it would have been a better career prospect if I was not an active ninja. The pay was good, more than good actually and there was a personal satisfaction in saving lives rather than taking it. Unfortunately for me, I have been doing the latter more and more nowadays.

After my first ANBU mission was done I had to learn to use ANBU codes as well as cyphers to mesh well with the team. There was also a crash course in guerrilla tactics as well as survival training under different climates. Most of the training sites were in forests of the Fire Country and the deserts of Wind Country.

Survival training in Wind Country was a real pain in the ass. It was not just about surviving the harshness of the desert but also to avoid the detection of Sunagakure shinobi. Thankfully, Suna lacked resources and number of ninjas to effectively patrol the entirety of Wind Country. But that doesn't mean that barren wasteland was left undefended. In fact, the entire desert was booby-trapped filled with poisoned darts, explosive tags and a sea of puppets. Training in the deserts achieved two things. One was the awareness and survival training and the other was making Suna spend more of their economy in defences. It was a win-win situation for Konoha and Suna was spending their hard-earned money to train Konoha ANBU. I had the distinct feeling this was the plan cooked up by the Hokage and Danzo. The fact that my Byakugan had picked up several masked ANBU that I have never seen around HQ during my training made me realise that Danzo was keeping tabs on me. It was not surprising seeing as I am marked to be the next Jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox.

All of my ANBU duties and training were chakra consuming activities. Because of that, I didn't have much time on my hand to train as much as I could. Still, I used one or two shadow clones to make some small progress in gravity manipulation. The best that I could do right now was to increase the intensity of gravity felt by an inanimate object and that too with minimum effect. It was still a work in progress as there was some chakra manipulation involved in this kind of sealing process.

Unlike normal sealing process which used pure chakra, gravity manipulation required earth natured chakra. From what I understood space-time ninjutsu required lightning natured chakra. This was not true for Hamura for some reason but for me, this was definitely the case. Thankfully there was no need to master earth natured chakra, just channelling the right amount of it into the seal would do the trick. I was hoping this was also true for Space-time ninjutsu otherwise I will be screwed big time.

The only ninjutsu that I had improved upon during my ANBU training so far was Wind Jutsu and the Rasengan. The wind jutsu was a subtle thing that was perfect for ANBU missions. It was silent, deadly, precise and most importantly very subtle to detect. There is also the fact that wind chakra enhanced weapons were the best to take out troublesome enemies. So far I have been blessed not to face overly powerful ninjas. It seems this world was cutting me some slack in the danger department so far.

As if the cosmic energies were listening on my thoughts I heard a knock on the window of the office. I found Otter hanging upside down over the window waving at me. I opened the window and let Otter into the office.

"You have a nice comfy office. I don't know how you bear with this life." Otter mused

"It has its ups and downs. Why are you here?" I asked cutting straight to the matter

"We have a mission." Otter said seriously

"But my shift is not over yet!" I argued

"Someone else will take care of it. This is serious." Otter said in her no-nonsense tone which she rarely used unless the situation called for it. So I just nodded and quickly followed her to the ANBU HQ. After changing into my gear I met up with the rest of the team at the main gate of the village. Together we began to run and jump through the trees at a fast pace that we literally became a blur.

"So, what's the mission?" I asked in between our fast-paced jumping

"Hokage-sama received an urgent message from one of our clients in Tea country. Apparently, our client Jushiro Ayuzawa of Kariwa town is being threatened by a regional rival to sell out his business. Naturally, Jushiro-san asked for Konoha's aid and Hokage-sama had sent a team to handle the situation. Unfortunately, the team failed in their mission and Jushiro's daughter has been abducted. We are now stepping in as per Hokage-sama's orders. We can't afford to lose Jushiro's trade contacts and influence in Tea country. So, our mission is to find the daughter of Jushiro-san and deal with the kidnappers and those who ordered this abduction in the first place." Rat explained as we continued our journey rapidly increasing our pace

"What about the team that was on the mission? Are they still with the client?" I asked

"They are guarding Jushiro-san as well as his family. They will return back to the village once we take over the mission from them." Rat explained

"Do you know anything about the team guarding our client captain?" Otter/Nozomi asked

"It is the Genin team led by Kagami Uchiha." Rat/Koharu answered which startled me as well as Nozomi and we fell into an uncomfortable silence

The rest of the journey was spent on planning out possible scenarios. It was extremely obvious that another shinobi or a group of Shinobi was involved in this mess. Now the only thing that remained to be seen was who would be our enemies.

It took us two days to reach the Tea country. On the second day, we decided to camp out in the forest to take some rest and scout the place for any enemy presence. Due to continuous chakra usage, our reserves were nearly down to half so we took turns to scout the place while the rest of the team rested a bit.

When it was my turn to scout I decided to lay the groundwork for my spy ring in Tea country.

**"Summoning Jutsu"**

In a puff of smoke, several small-sized rabbits appeared in the summoning circle. These were the messenger rabbits that Doku had promised would work as a reliable spy network.

"Ok guys here is the situation. I am looking for a group of shinobi who have abducted a client's daughter. Discretely look around the place and report any findings back to me. Do you all understand the mission?" I looked at the group of rabbits pointedly and they rapidly nodded their heads flapping their long ears which were kind of cute and funny

"Alright, off you go but keep in mind that you must not expose yourself to the enemy. If there is a sensory ninja among them they will identify you as a summoning animal." I warned them before they hopped off In different directions. Now all that was left for me to do was to wait and take some rest. Just as I settled myself on top of a tree I immediately felt a mental connection opening-up

"You took your sweet time in contacting me, Hamura-sama." I mentally commented as I found myself facing the floating form of Hamura Otsutsuki in my mindscape

**_"It took me a lot of time to understand the nature of your Tenseigan. In my reduced state as a spirit, I have certain limitations with how I interact with the real world. Besides, I didn't know how your Tenseigan would react when it came into contact with my chakra. So I had to take precautions and that took time." Hamura said _**

"Well, what did you find out?" I asked him eagerly. As of this moment, any intel about the Tenseigan was a godsend to me because I had no idea what I am dealing with

**_"There is no doubt that your Tenseigan is in a much-reduced state. I am guessing that it has mutated into a reduced state and separated itself from the Chakra cloak and Yin-Yang jutsu. It seems only your ocular powers are activated." Hamura commented serenely _**

"Then what are these ocular powers? How do I activate them?" I asked curiously as that would really help in sorting out so many problems

**_"I believe your powers will reveal itself to you. All ocular powers are instinctual in nature and I believe that is the same for you." Hamura said_ **

"Oh come on. You can at least explain what sort of powers that you possessed with your Tenseigan." I was incensed with this guy's high and mighty attitude and to my own ears I sounded a little whinging

**_"It is not that I don't want to help you Varuna. The fact is that you are a unique anomaly. This is the first time that Hagoromo's and my own bloodline merged together. This means anything can happen and I rather do not throw a wrench into the development of your Tenseigan." Hamura reasoned but that was not an answer that I was willing to accept_ **

"This is ridiculous. You could help me more but you are merely holding back for some reason." I said angrily as I finally lost my cool and there was an awkward silence between us

**_"We will speak more of this after you have cooled down and finish this mission." With that said, Hamura went silent and I broke the link angrily with a huff_ **

On second thought I knew I was probably taking out my frustrations on Hamura. My quest for activating all the powers of Tenseigan stemmed from my innate fear of dying again. This fear has always been there which helped me train continuously and progress at a faster rate but now that I am in ANBU that fear has enveloped me completely. Every day I woke up thinking this would be the day that I die and that feeling was something that was destroying the carefully constructed walls around my mind. Even my day to day meditation has proven to be ineffective in controlling the growing fear that was gripping my mind. The only solution to alleviate this fear was to become the strongest shinobi and that was what he will be.

**XXXXXX **

Hijikata Toshizō was making sure all his equipment were in top-notch condition for the final time. This mission was too much important for Kiri and that was why the third Mizukage sent one of the Seven Swordsmen along with a two Chunin ninja to Tea country. Frankly speaking, the mission to dismantle the business of their client's rival was only a side mission for Kiri. The real mission was to dismantle the network of Konoha aligned clients and bring them into Kiri's fold. For that to happen he had to destroy the Konoha shinobi assigned to this mission. However, when he and his team arrived in Tea country all they found was a bunch of snot-nosed brats. At least the Jonin in charge of those kids was a challenge. But the tree hugger got himself injured trying to protect his weak students. But that made everything simple as his team managed to spirit away the merchant's daughter and now he was sure an elite Konoha squad would be sent.

Now that he had all the cards he could force the Konoha shinobi to fight in the open and defeat them publically. That will show the strength of Kiri Shinobi and attract more clients to the village. This was the general plan that was agreed upon by the third Mizukage, Kagura Yuki. In hindsight that might sound quite an idiotic plan but Kiri was in a desperate position. The last war was very costly for Kiri as a lot of Shinobi died in the war with Iwa. They lost the second Mizukage along with many other veteran shinobi to the two Dust release users of Iwa. The only reason that Kiri retained the great five status was because of the bloodline limits the village possessed. Even still, the economy of Kiri was the weakest of all other nations purely owing to the fact that geographically Water Country is far away and isolated from the rest of Elemental nations. Sea trade was the lifeblood of Kiri and nations like Wave, Whirlpool, Nadeshiko, Hagi Island and Tea country were decent trade partners. But the last war has made Whirlpool country and Tea country hostile to Kiri with the destruction wrought by the war.

This state of affairs has brought Kiri to take drastic measures. They were going to stem the flow of Konoha clients and take them over by showing the might of Kiri. Now, the only complaint that Hijikata had was the presence of four morons that accompanied him on this mission. All four of his 'teammates' were from clans with bloodline limits and those four were arrogant fools that had high opinions of themselves. That was why he was going to use those fools as baits for the tree huggers. Hearing footsteps in the cave his gaze travelled to the entrance and found those annoying morons enter all high and mighty.

"Captain we have scouted out the area and we detected no enemies." Todo Terumi reported

"The tree huggers may have just thrown in the towel captain. We did give them a good beating the last time." Serizawa Hozuki said with a proud smile

'Yeah right! All you morons did was throw around your fancy jutsu like morons. I was the one that actually did the fighting you clan trash.' Hijikata raged in his mind but he maintained a poker face on the outside knowing that these morons were going to be buried three feet under the ground soon enough.

"If you have scouted the place then take some rest. For now, I will keep the lookout. Just make sure our prisoner is well fed and watered." Hijikata said as his eyes strayed to a gagged and bound girl of five years old at best. The fact that said girl flinched when his eyes landed on her made him smile as that was what Kiri represented. Many of the lower nations have forgotten to fear the Shinobi of Kiri. Well, his job was to put that fear back into the hearts of these people and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Now that the bait was set he was going to lay low and let these morons attract the tree huggers. Then he will sweep in and cut up all those tree huggers and their bodies will be nailed on the walls of the town along with Konoha's clients. He body flickered away from the mountain careful to not leave a trail on his back.

His element of surprise would have even worked but before he could leave undetected he and his teammates were already under watch by a small fluffy white rabbit not far away from the cave.

**XXXXX VARUNA XXXXX**

I listened to the reported sighting of five Kiri shinobi not far away from their position with a calm face. There was no point in panicking as they were already informed of the Kiri Shinobi. Though it was an advantage to know the exact number of shinobi his team were going to face.

"Good work over there, little guy. Let's get this over with and save that poor girl from Kiri shinobi." I patted the little messenger rabbit on his head and placed it on my shoulder and began to run back to the camp quickly.

A few minutes later my team was listening to the info my loyal summon has managed to gather.

"So, we are against five Kiri shinobi out of which one is a high Jonin class shinobi while the others are Chunin level. We can also assume that their hideout is where they hold the hostage." Rat(Koharu) summed up the situation

"Our priority is to get the hostage to safety. Dealing with Kiri Shinobi is our second priority. How about we draw away the attention of the Kiri ninja and strike when they are distracted?" Otter(Nozomi) suggested

"That is a bold plan but it is doable. I can sneak in and get out without anyone the wiser of a proper distraction can be created." Dog(Hikari) said nodding at Otter

"What is your opinion Rabbit?" Rat(Koharu) asked the youngest member of her team who has so far remained silent in the discussion

"I agree to the plan of drawing out the enemy but if Dog is going to go for the hostage we have to remember that the Jonin is nowhere to be seen now. Any plan we make for an extraction is in danger because of the Kiri Jonin. There is a high probability that the Jonin is purposefully hiding himself and presenting his team as bait for us. So I suggest none of us go into the cave but rather send someone else into the cave for us while we deal with Kiri ninja." I presented my plan and I didn't know how they are taking it because of the mask

"Say that we follow your plan who will be going into the cave to rescue the hostage?" Rat(Koharu) asked

"My summons are very good diggers. They can get in and out without anyone sensing them. They can secure the hostage safely and we can concentrate on taking out enemy ninja." I explained further and we discussed all the pros and cons until finally, it was Rat's decision as she was the team leader

"We will go with Rabbit's plan." Rat finally decided and gave me a nod

**"Summoning jutsu."**

In a puff of smoke, a brown coloured rabbit appeared before me.

"Miroku I am in need of your special skills to extract a hostage. You will have to dig through a hill to reach the target. Can you do that?" I asked and the reply that I got was a broad smile along with a thumbs up from the said rabbit

With our plans finalised and discussed between ourselves, we waited by an adjacent mountain far out of the sensory range of Kiri Shinobi. I was keeping tabs on the progress of Miroku with my Byakugan.

"How many Kiri ninja can you see?" Rat(Koharu) asked as we observed the cave from our hiding spot

"Only four, captain. There is no sign of the fifth one around the area." I reported

We waited patiently for ten minutes and the first rays of sunlight were shining on the mountains.

"It's time. Miroku is ready!" I reported to my team and together we sprinted across the rocky mountainous slope. Half-way to our destination we split into two groups. Rat and Dog split away from us to attack the cave from one side while I and Otter attacked from the other direction.

Quickly we surrounded the cave and we took out explosive tags wrapped around the kunai handle and threw them around the exterior of the cave. One by one the tags began to go off shattering the rocks around the mountain. The cave was also experiencing aftershocks of the explosion and we quickly threw smoke bombs inside. When smoke filled up in the cave I could see Miroku jump out of the tunnel that he finished and took hold of the hostage and vanished back into the Moon Mountains.

"The package is secured!" I signalled the team in sign language which means we could now go all out. But before we could do that the four Kiri ninja escaped the cave and began to put some distance between us. In the end, we ended up standing by the side of the cave while they took positions below the cave. Both ourselves and our enemy were now facing each other standing on a mountain slope.

A leaf flew right in between the two groups and when the leaf touched the ground both sides surged forward.

I flipped right over the Kiri shinobi and swept with the kunai in my hand aiming for his jugular. The Kiri ninja deflected my strike with his own kunai and tried to jam his elbow to my side. I was not going to allow that but I used the opportunity to use his elbow as a springboard when I caught his arm in my left palm. I spun around in mid-air and channelled wind chakra through my kunai. This time the tip of my kunai slightly graced the Kiri ninja's cheek opening a thin line. My enemy dodged back and that saved him from being cut to ribbons from my wind chakra enhanced kunai.

I could feel my other teammates had led their opponents away from my immediate area and that left me a lot of room to go all out. Unfortunately for me, that was also advantageous for my opponent.

**"Ice release: Frost Breath."**

My opponent breathed out a cold most straight towards me and I could see that the floor was being turned into ice. I couldn't let that happen in any way as my winter training has not been up to par and the element will be a disaster for me especially when I am fighting on a slope. So that left me no choice but to overpower my enemy in ninjutsu at all cost. I could pull off one hand seals for fire chakra and that reduced my time of attack.

**"Fire release: Heat Wave."**

Fire chakra concentrated on my palms and I slapped them together to create a concentrated blast of a heatwave that melted away the ice that was forming on the floor.

"You are a member of the Yuki clan huh?" I asked fishing for any information as I prepared my mind flashed through possible ways that I could take out this guy

"Don't worry tree hugger I will be sending you into a cold grave soon enough." The Kiri shinobi snarled and his hands blurred through hand seals

**"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique"**

A thick fog began to quickly cover the entire area and I smirked at the foolish action of my opponent. My Byakugan could see exactly where the enemy ninja was and this jutsu has only increased my rate of success. This was why forward intelligence was the lifeblood of shinobi.

I quickly put my hand in the classic ram seal and summoned an exploding shadow clone to take my place while I suppressed my chakra as best as I could and hid inside the most. The clone began to move around the mist flaring its chakra as best as it could and the Kiri ninja took the bait. Just as the Kiri ninja's kunai plunged into the neck of my clone and it exploded readily. The force of the explosion threw the Kiri ninja straight in my direction and I placed my hand on my sword that was secured on my back. In a flash, my sword was out a quick flick of my hand as I rolled right under the flying Kiri ninja. The sword in my hand was dyed red on its silver blade and the Kiri ninja fell on the ground but without any life in his body, he began to roll down the slope of the mountain. My eyes traced the bloodstains on the rock as my enemy fell and strangely I felt neither guilt or sympathy.

With my fight over I turned my attention to others. Rat(Koharu) had quickly finished off her opponent after she trapped the guy in a mud prison. From the looks of it, she fought a Lava style user but bloodline limits were nothing in front of an experienced ninja.

Dog also finished his fight but he was a little bit injured because he fought a boil release user. I could see the burns that he suffered with my Byakugan but Dog came out triumphant by slapping an exploding tag on his opponent's back.

Otter(Nozomi) was the only one that had yet to finish off her opponent simply because her opponent was a Hozuki. Rat jumped in to help but the several kunai that our captain threw went straight through Hozuki as his body was completely made of water.

"Physical attacks won't work on him, captain. We have to restrain him somehow and disrupt his chakra flow. Otherwise he can turn his body into water bypassing any damage we can dish out on him." I said out loud as I observed Hozuki through my Byakugan watching his chakra flow

Dog also jumped in into the fight trying to trap the Hozuki kid in a sea of explosions but even that didn't work. Only Otter's Lightning jutsu could do some damage but the Hozuki knew that and always never engaged Otter in close combat. Suddenly out of nowhere the Hozuki kid changed tactics as he went from defensive to offensive and he went straight for me startling my three comrades.

For me, the world seemed to slow down in an instant and my eyes instantly transformed into Tenseigan. I was working on pure instinct and I could feel a trickle of energy pulse in my right eye. The flower pattern in my right eye spun anti-clockwise and I could feel my chakra penetrate into the psyche of Hozuki.

**"Kangiten."**

That single word stopped Hozuki and the guy was now standing in front of me sporting a happy face. No, happy was not the correct emotion on Hozuki's face but rather bliss. The guy was starting stupidly through me with a stupid smile on his face.

Otter(Nozomi) was quick to react as she stabbed Hozuki right through his heart with her blade which was infused with lightning chakra. As the lightning chakra disrupted Hozuki's ability to transform into water, a kunai straight to the head courtesy of Nozomi finished off the guy. This time there was a lot of blood that covered my cute rabbit mask and Nozomi's otter mask.

Otter pushed the corpse away and it fell sideways down the hill. All four of us watched the body disappear into the fog without a shred of emotion.

"Your eyes are different!" Otter(Nozomi) observed as she looked into the eyeholes of my mask

Before I could respond my Tenseigan immediately identified a fast-moving ninja who was subtly infusing his chakra into the sky.

"Stand fast! We have an enemy approaching us from 3'Oclock." I warned and we faced the direction of our enemy

"The jonin of Kiri?" Rat asked

"Possibly. His chakra levels are off the charts and somehow he is infusing his chakra into the sky." I said with a hint of admiration as that was no easy task. I could see the changes that were already happening in the sky. The Tenseigan was very good at picking up subtle things like heat signature, humidity levels, pH levels etc. I was already studying the chakra conversion patterns and the transmission that was taking place all around us without missing a beat.

We didn't have to wait long as a figure stood opposite to us with a toothy grin.

"Wassup bitches! Get ready to be shocked, you nasty tree huggers. I am Hijikata Toshizō and you four have the privilege of facing the wielder of Kiba blades. Say your prayers now because you won't get a chance again."

The ninja introduced himself and the sky became thick with thunder clouds all of a sudden. I could feel the mountain vibrate under the shock of thunder in the sky. I summed up my team's thought at that time in a single word.

"Fuck!"


	11. Kiba blades X Vajra

**XXXXX VARUNA(Rabbit) XXXXX**

The ability to world one of the most sought out and powerful Dojutsu should have made me the most powerful guy in the elemental nations. But the world decided to fuck me sideways and instead I have a crappy Dojutsu that has performance issues at the most unfortunate times. Right now, I have a crazy guy who is the wielder of Kiba blades and my Tenseigan was not able to use **Kangiten **again. That left me and my team no choice but to run away to save our lives.

"You are the strongest wind user in the team. Can't you do something against this guy?" Dog(Hikari) asked as the two of us ran and hopped around the mountains carefully avoiding any stray lightning that was striking around the place randomly

"That guy is not converting chakra into lightning. He is manipulating the atmosphere and summoning pure lightning and no amount of wind jutsu is going to cancel it out. Besides, by the time we weave any hand signs, we would already be dead." I said to him as I dismissed the Tenseigan and reverted back to Byakugan to conserve as much chakra as possible

"Can't you use jutsu with one hand?" Dog(Hikari) asked curiously as we took shelter under a boulder far away from others

"I can only use Fire Jutsu with one-hand-seals. Besides who can even weave hand signs with that crazy bastard cackling around? Did you see the crazed look in his eyes? He is a pure psycho!" I flinched as I could still feel the oppressive blood lust that oozed out if that crazed psycho. The Tenseigan I have found picks up emotions from others and throat prevalent emotions I could see from the Kiri jonin was an amalgamation of hatred, lust, anger and greed. It was truly a novel experience and I have never seen anyone exhibit something like that. That guy is a real sicko.

I was forcibly broken out of my shocked state by a whack to the back of my head courtesy of Dog(Hikari)

"Geez, kid…Calm down alright! You are going into shock and your control over chakra is slipping. Rein in your chakra and suppress it else we will be caught." Dog(Hikari) whispered heatedly

I took several deep breaths and used _pranayama _to quickly control my out of control heartbeats as well as my racing thoughts.

"Are you alright now?" Dog(Hikari) asked as he rubbed my back

"Yeah…I just had a panic attack. Sorry." I apologized bowing my head in she and guilt as I nearly blew our cover

"Don't worry kid. We all have our moments of weakness even those who are touted as geniuses." Dog(Hikari) consoled me

"I shouldn't have joined ANBU. I will only endanger you guys." I mumbled into my hands

"If every new recruit thought like that then our village will be overrun. We in the ANBU fight the fights that our regular troops are not able to. We use every dirty truck in the book to complete the mission and failure is not an option. Sometimes we will have to face unfathomable odds but a true ANBU never lets the enemy decide how the fight is going to end. While the ANBU agents may not win the battle against such monstrous enemies all we have to do is not to let the enemy win. Nowhere in our manual says that we have to kill every opponent and achieve total victory." Dog(Hikari) explained which made me look up at him in confusion

"What are you saying?" I asked curiously

"You said it yourself when we first faced the guy that he was manipulating atmospheric composition to attack us right?"

"Yeah…so what?"

"In doing that he is wasting a lot of his chakra even if the Kiba blades may aid him in this technique. No matter how powerful he is, the guy can't keep this up for a long time. So, all we have to do is let the guy waste all his energy and even if he somehow finds us and engages us in open battle we have to somehow divert his energy away from us. Now, do you understand?" Dog(Hikari) shared his plan

Instead of replying to Dog's strategy my mind was stuck on an idea that was blossoming in me. This mission was not yet completely hopeless and there was still time to take back the momentum here and he was finally able to solve one of his long-standing problems as well. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

"I think I know how to negate the Kiba blades." I said as I immediately grabbed a kunai from my back pouch and pricked one of my fingers

"What are you doing?" Dog(Hikari) asked curiously and I began to explain my plan. I could see his eyes widen inside his mask and he nodded briefly giving me the go-ahead signal. With that, I slammed my hand on the ground and the classic summoning circle appeared beneath my palm.

In a puff of smoke, Miku appeared in the summoning circle and I immediately began to fill him in on my plan and sent him back on his way. Now, it was time to take this fight to that Kiri swordsman.

**XXXXX ****NOZOMI(Otter)** **XXXXX**

Nozomi enjoyed being in the ANBU as it gave her the thrill and euphoria of freedom and adventure. While the job did make her stare death in the face she would rather be in ANBU rather than being some baby-making machine in some fools backyard. Nope, she loved the job and every time she had come close to death she somehow managed to evade it and say a resounding NO. The kind of feeling that generates within her when she does that can't be found in any other way and she was pretty sure of that.

Right now she was in one of those 'stare death in the face' situation. Rat(Koharu) was the one that devised the plan to split the team into two and she concluded with her captain's assessment. When Rabbit(Varuna) had informed the team about what the Kiri ninja was doing with those blades she knew that this was going to be one of those fights where the team will have to make the enemy abandon attacking them. With that decision made her captain entrusted the safety of Rabbit(Varuna) to Dog(Hikari).

She was not happy about that decision at first as it would have been some 'bonding' experience if Rabbit(Varuna) was given to her. She would have loved to tease Rabbit(Varuna) further with some alone time and that might be why her captain did what she did. Rat(Koharu) was always a spoilsport and had no inclination for some fun time. Still, she forgave her captain as both of them got to be the distraction while Dog(Hikari) secured Rabbit(Varuna).

Rabbit(Varuna) was the slowest among their team not because he is weak but because of his physical constitution. Then again he is too valuable to be lost in a mission like this.

"Otter, we have to engage him in battle sooner or later. Are you ready?" Rat(Koharu) asked as they jumped through a sea of trees

"Yup and we learned one more thing from our little plan." Nozomi said

"What's that?" Rat(Koharu) asked

"Our enemy is slow when he uses the blades to manipulate the atmosphere and he seems to intent on using the blades to attack us." Nozomi replied as her palms went to her kunai pouch

"Don't use regular kunai or shuriken. There is too much static charge and it's risky. If you are intent on using Kunai use the one with explosive tags." Rat(Koharu) advised as they neared the rendezvous point in a clearing. Both of them stopped with the clearing to their back and waited for the Kiri ninja to catch up. Quickly they jumped up on instinct and that saved their lives as all the surrounding trees were cut down in an instant by a concentrated beam of lightning.

"I see you have stopped running. That's good. Don't worry, I won't drag this out and finish you off quickly." Hijikata smirked as he faced the two Konoha kunoichi

"I am sure you are quick to finish in many things. It is not an admirable trait to boast off especially to women." Nozomi goaded which wiped off the smile from Hijikata's face as he glared at her

"You are going to regret this bitc..." before he could finish Rat(Koharu) threw several smoke bombs at Hijikata

While the smoke bombs went off the two of them spread out and began launching their attacks that were designed to confuse the enemy for the true attack to take effect.

Otter(Nozomi)started off with kunai strapped with explosive tags. She added a little static to those kunai for increased speed, piercing power and to repel any static charges. All the kunai landed around the Kiri ninja's position in a wide semicircle. At the same time, Rat(Koharu) started off with an earth style jutsu that made earthen spikes to sprout from the ground. The spikes went straight for the Kiri ninja jumped straight up to avoid a sure death. Nozomi's eyes widened behind her mask as she saw the Kiba blades hum with power.

Otter(Nozomi) was quick to use the body flicker jutsu to move away as a torrent of lightning struck where she was a second ago. The same happened for Rat(Koharu) and her captain quickly slammed her hand on the ground. The ground shook as stone walls after stone walls quickly littered across the area and Otter(Nozomi) let out a sigh of relief. The stone walls were going to be a layer of protection that they will have against any possible lightning strikes from the blade.

"I have had enough playtime with you tree huggers. I would have really enjoyed this game more but I have a mission to finish and it's time for you to be gone forever." Hijikata snarled as he raised the Kiba blades to the air and the sky darkened further if that was possible and it was raining now

Otter(Nozomi) and Rat(Koharu) gulped in fear as the skies were filled with a number of lightning dragons that were too innumerable to count.

"We are fucked!" Otter(Nozomi whispered

"Say, bye-bye bitches." Hijikata yelled as he swung the blades in a downward ark and Nozomi braced for the explosion that was about to follow. But even after a few seconds she never felt the attack connect so she opened her eyes to a very confusing sight. The lightning dragons in the air were rapidly shrinking down. Her senses alerted to two more familiar presence behind her and she turned to find Rabbit(Varuna) and Dog(Hikari) behind her.

The interesting bit was that Rabbit(Varuna) was holding a weapon that was similar to a pitchfork. It was not exactly a pitchfork seeing as the two ends of the weapon had the fork-like prongs extending outwards and the weapon was absorbing the lightning in the sky at an unprecedented rate.

"What!!! How is this possible?" Hijikata screamed in anger as his primary weapon was reduced to a sparky blade as he felt his control over the sky slip away

Before Hijikata could unleash a wave of destructive jutsu Rabbit(Varuna) slammed his hand on the ground performing the summoning jutsu. In a puff of smoke a large three-eyed rabbit the size of a 20ft tower who was red in colour named Ikkaku.

"Finally I can have some piece of the action." Ikkaku happily jumped with a scythe in his hands and delivered a devastating blow right where Hijikata was standing

The Kiri ninja had the presence of mind to jump away but the force behind the scythe shattered the ground and the gales of wind pushed the ninja at least 50ft back.

"You are getting fried beast!" Hijikata snarled as he crossed the kind blades and channelled lightning chakra through the blades. A concentrated beam of lightning went straight for Ikkaku but the red rabbit merely scoffed and clapped his hands together while the scythe was still lodged in the ground.

**_"Rabbit style: Great Destruction Beam."_ **

Ikkaku opened his third eye and from that eye, a powerful red beam of energy blasted away and pushed back the lightning beam easily. The beam tore through the ground and struck straight at Hijikata who defended against it with his crossed blade. While the lightning infused blades were strong enough to withstand the brunt of the attack without much damage Hijikata himself was not immune to the adverse effects. The guy was steadily getting blasted away as the energy beam burnt him out from the outside.

Otter(Nozomi) watched as Varuna jumped over the rabbit's head with his hands blurting through hand seals.

**"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."**

A large torrent of wind blasted off from Rabbit that combined with the red laser beam and blasted away the Kiri ninja.

Otter(Nozomi) let out a sigh of relief as a deadly situation turned to their advantage in a matter of minutes. The large rabbit popped away in a puff of smoke leaving Rabbit(Varuna) to stand there with that weapon in his hand. Taking a closer look at it she was sure she had seen it somewhere. Then her eyes widened briefly as she remembered the symbol that was attributed with the Senju clan.

"How come you are holding some weapon that is disturbingly similar to the symbol of Senju clan?" Otter(Nozomi asked curiously startling her other team members which led them to look on curiously

"It's a long story." Rabbit(Varuna) laughed awkwardly

"Then it can wait because we have a secondary objective of our mission to finish." Rat(Koharu) reminded them and together the team vanished in a blur

**XXXXXX**

Kagami Uchiha winced lightly as he moved his left arm, pain shooting through the fried nerves of his now useless arm. This mission was supposed to be an easy one as the client just received some threats to his business and was requesting Konoha's protection. Usually, such missions were assigned to Genin team but this one was assigned to his team who had Takashi Hatake as the only Chunin. It was an opportunity for Takashi to gain field experience in a safe environment. At least, that was the plan but from the moment that they crossed the borders into Tea country everything went up in shit.

Takashi was the one to lead the team and he proposed the strategy to track down the source of the threat. The only problem was they never imagined Kiri ninja were spinning a trap for them in this mission and they paid the price for their ignorance. Takashi had one side of his face burnt off with a few broken ribs and a twisted ankle. Sora Inuzuka had his ninken killed in the fight and the boy was in a catatonic state with few minor injuries. Asuna Yamanaka had both of her hands broken and she was the least injured of his team. Kagami himself suffered from a lightning attack that came out of nowhere. He didn't even see his assailant which was shameful for a veteran ninja to admit but that's the truth.

The only relief in all of this was that he had managed to send a messenger hawk to Konoha requesting aid. From the looks of the unusual weather patterns, there was some serious fight going on in the mountains half an hour ago. He just hoped the client's daughter is safe and the Kiri shinobi be dealt with. He half-turned to his right side as their client Jushiro Ayuzawa stood right next to him and observed the calming skies.

"Will my daughter be alright?" Jushiro asked hiding the undertone of fear but Kagami could pick it up quite easily

"I sent a request for an ANBU team Ayuzawa-san. Your daughter will be quite alright." Kagami consoled the guy

Just as their client was about to respond he saw Jushiro's eyes widen. He turned around to see four ANBU agents with a child. Kagami let out a sigh of relief. For once things were looking up and it seems he and his team would be returning back home safely.

A few minutes later Kagami was watching the tearful reunion of the child and her mother all the while Jushiro-san was thanking the ANBU team profusely.

"I don't know how to thank you all. I don't even know your names." Jushiro rubbed his eyes happily sweeping away his tears of joy as he witnessed his daughter safe and happy in his wife's embrace

"We live and die for our village Ayuzawa-san. You can honour us by enlisting Konoha's services and we consider our clients an integral part of Konoha. An attack on our clients is an attack on Konoha and we will protect what is ours fiercely." Rat(Koharu) spoke up for the rest of the team and continued, "We have also dealt with the merchants that threatened you and ordered this kidnapping in the first place. We have also ensured their trade networks won't take a speedy recovery if recovery is possible at all. You have ample time to expand and Konoha will always aide our trusted clients every step of the way."

"Ayuzawa-san, we would like to place a proximity seal in your house. It would allow us to detect any foreign entities entering your home. We would be alerted and we have discrete measures to check-in on you and your family to ensure that you are safe. You won't ever feel any discomfort and we won't be invasive but this will ensure your family remains safe." Rabbit(Varuna) suggested thinking about starting his new spy network now that he had prepared the rabbits for the mission with reverse summon seals that they could use to move back and forth from their destination and Moon mountain.

"You expect that we will be threatened again? Are we in danger?" Jushiro looked scared as he started at everyone separately for an answer

"We will ensure an incident like this never happens again Ayuzawa-san. If you cooperate we can do our jobs much easier but let me assure you that your family won't be in any danger. You can trust Konoha to keep our word no matter the odds." Rabbit(Varuna) promised, seeing as no one was talking and the client finally gave his permission to apply the seal.

With the mission concluded both teams returned back to Konoha as fast as they could especially considering that team Kagami needed immediate medical assistance.

**XXX HOKAGE TOWER XXX**

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the ANBU team assembled before him briefly and then went back to read the report in his hands. He was a little worried that Kiri was once again flexing its muscles. He knew when an opening to a long drawn out conflict was starting and this one had all the looks of it. The First Shinobi world war started along the similar lines and what a disaster it had turned out into for all the great ninja villages.

After reading through the report he closed the file and secured it inside his personal safe where all ANBU ops and their detailed reports are secured.

"So, your team encountered one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri and that too the wielder of the Kiba blades." Hiruzen commented without showing any emotions pinning the ANBU team with a stare "What is your assessment of the situation Rat? I would like you to explain the actions of your team and the reasons if possible."

"It looks like Kiri is starting to expand their influence across the seas into the mainland. Naturally, that means we are going to come to blows and as you know engaging against Kiri is always costly for our Shinobi. They are the second strongest great village and has a pool of ninja clans that have bloodline limits that have devastating powers. This is why Rabbit(Varuna) insisted on keeping the Ayuzawa residence under surveillance for the time being. Also, we have ensured that there won't be any immediate retaliation from rival merchants by robbing them of any and all valuables. It is good to say that our client is now more than committed to working with Konoha now that we have cleared up the board for his business to grow further. It is also my suggestion to emphasis Konoha's contribution to the rise of Ayuzawa-san's rising business empire to remind him where his fortunes come from." Rat(Koharu) reported monotonously

"I see. I am also interested in knowing about this advanced form of Byakugan and this weapon that could make even the famed Kiba blades impotent." Hiruzen focused his stare on the ANBU with a rabbit mask. His trained eyes could see Rabbit(Varuna) stiffen under his stare

"You don't need to share if you are uncomfortable with exposing clan secrets." Hiruzen gave the young ninja a way out from answering his query seeing that he had made Rabbit(Varuna) uncomfortable

"I have no problem in sharing the details Hokage-sama. It's just that I don't know much about the evolved form of Byakugan any more than you do. I call it the Tenseigan and I seem to have the ability to pick up emotions from others and of course, it has a more in-depth perception of Chakra far better than the Byakugan." Rabbit(Varuna) answered but Hiruzen could pick up that it was not the whole truth but didn't pursue the matter

"What about the weapon you used?" Hiruzen moved on to the next question reminding himself to discretely enquire about the evolved eye with trusted Hyuga operatives

"The weapons name is Vajra. No one knows its exact origins but it was a gift from the Senju clan to Uzumaki clan in the Warring clans era as a form of dowry. The transfer of the weapon and a Senju bride to the Uzumaki clan head brought peace between the two clans. It was handed over to me by the Rabbit clan after I was healed in the Moon mountain." Rabbit(Varuna) answered truthfully

"And this weapon is similar to the Kiba blades?" Hiruzen prodded

"I didn't know how it worked but I traced the chakra dispersing technique Hijikata-san used through the Kiba blades. Using the same method I was able to take control of the chakra dispersed in the skies."

"I see. Have you mastered this weapon?" Hiruzen asked and he raised an eyebrow as he felt Rabbit(Varuna) switched lightly

"Mmm..not exactly. I did try to use it once but this was the first time that I managed to do something to this scale." Rabbit said awkwardly as felt the glare on him from Dog(Hikari)

"Outside of depending on an untested weapon at a crucial point in the mission, I think you managed to make most of the situation. Although, I do strongly recommend not to pull this kind of stunt. Konoha doesn't expect her shinobi to blindly charge into battles. We choose whichever battles we can win and then engage otherwise we use tactical retreat so that we can fight and win another day. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Rabbit stiffened lightly

"Rat, stay. The rest of you may leave." Hiruzen dismissed the rest of the ANBU squad and turning his attention to his friend and advisor. There was a lot of things to discuss especially the encroachment of Kiri. It was time to take strong actions before Kiri exerts its influence further. If they are ready to go for Tea Country then they are ready to go for other nearby countries

"We have to contact the Uzumaki clan. It seems we will be needing or coastal allies to lockout Kiri from the mainland." Koharu suggested as she removed her ANBU mask and took a chair

"ANBU, find Danzo and Hamura. Tell them that the Hokage needs their advice on a matter of great importance." Hiruzen said and the shadows in the office flickered signalling the movement of hidden ANBU guards

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

**I think this chapter was long overdue. I hadn't planned on introducing Vajra this early as my plan was for another one of Tenseigan abilities to show itself. But halfway through the chapter I shifted the plot and pushed back the development of Tenseigan. Sorry to disappoint you guys but I have another venue for the Tenseigan to show itself. Now that Vajra is revealed I will be using it further along as Varuna will be learning to use it through experimentation. As for how Varuna managed to learn to use Vajra quickly, that will be addressed in the next chapter.**


End file.
